Kilkerran 8 Year Cask Strength (56.2% ABV)

I usually love whiskies from campbeltown since they often give me a little from each scottish whisky zone, the balance from Highlands, the fruitiness from speyside, the peat from the islands, the chocolate from the lowlands. And i have to say, that i've seen this bottle a lot in social media, and some whisky groups, and it always called my attention. Now i have tasted it, and i can tell you about it, in my own subjective way, because that is the way reviews work. Kilkerran actually comes from the Glengyle distillery, bottled at 56.5%abv, amber natural color. On the nose, it is great. Starts with chocolate, the switches into a little, very well balanced, smoke. Prunes, lemon, creamy vanilla. Wet grass, almond oil and meringue. Nice. After the first sip, it becomes very maritime, with saltiness overall. Toffee, orange and grapefruit appear. Champagne cola. On the palate, it is a solid dram. Dulce de leche, toffee; pepper, vanilla and salt. Powerful but pleasant. Aftertaste is long, and well delivered, even though it is very spicy. Smoke, salt, red chilli. Sulphuric; mostly salty, pleasant. Overall i believe this is a good whisky, specially for a 8yo age statement, because you don't actually feel any alcohol, or anything off-putting, and it is fairly delicious. I believe it has good tasting and aroma notes, but it feels it could be better with 2-4 years more, without losing its abv. My score for it is 89.50 over 100, and i took away for the first time 0.50 points, only to keep it under the 4.5 stars score, since it actually doesn't feel like it deserves it, even if it is a nice, pleasant dram as i recognize it is. Sláinte!

Nose: 4* Strong lemon juice, salinity and something cake-y Palate: 4* Pepper, peaches and leathery notes Finish: 3,75* Earthy, ashes and peppery spices, bittering finish Chewable dram, despite it’s age. Misses the fine herbal notes and complex nose/finish of the 12. Drank with a couple drops of water.

Tasted with David 6/30/2020 Campbletown, Natural Color, Non-Chill Filtered A beast. 55.7% ABV, this thing is like sticking your face in an ignited rocket engine. It's intense. At first I was turned off by it but once I dug into the bottle I began to like it. It's grassy and spicy and full of complex flavor. In order to really get the tasting notes down I want to try another bottle. But I really enjoyed my time with Kilkerran 8. Worth a buy if cask strength is your thing.

Nose: lots of minerality, little smoky, hints of tropical fruit and more smooth than expected, malty, damp wood, musty Body: thick, spicy, juicy, again more underlying smoothness than expected Palate: smoky, spicy, a little fruit, menthol, burnt rubber, damp wood, a little rye/bourbon Finish: peppery, woody, hot and mouth coating