Kilkerran 16 Year

The Kilkerran 12 quickly became one of my favorite single malts when it was released so I was eager to try the new 16-year-old edition. It’s a permanent addition to the range but the blend of casks will change each year. For the debut release, there’s a small amount of Madeira casks in the mix, an intriguing choice. My sample was part of a Kilkerran tasting pack released for the virtual Whisky Show in October but which I cracked open only last night for another quarantine session. The nose at first reminds me more of a Springbank Local Barley than the Kilkerran 12, with notes of grass and barley. There’s lemon too, which harks more to its younger sibling. More strikingly, a rich apricot aroma develops over time. Flavor wise, it’s creamy and malty, with a spritz of orange rind oil and a touch of oak spice. The finish leans towards sweet tea and a gentle oak spice. This is very different from the 12 and it’s clearly due in part to the Madeira casks. The tasting pack included a single Madeira cask distilled in 2014, and the apricot aroma is very apparent. I much preferred the single cask to the 16, in part due to the oily texture of its higher ABV and a musky grape note. But overall the triumph of the 12 proves hard to beat, relegating the 16 to the status of Difficult Second Album. In time I might love it, but for now I'll stick to the smash-hit debut.