Kilkerran Heavily Peated Batch No. 7

Nose was calming, peat comes out in taste majnly. Not too over bearing but an interesting taste.

Nose: Phenolic and medicinal, Capilano Yellow Box Honey, Palate: Biscuity, Marshmallows, Caramel Finish: Long with lemon acidity

At first the nose is a little shy outside of ethanol. After airing out for a bit, lemon, Nilla Wafers, banana, salty, chocolate, black licorice, floral, slight berry. Smoke, but it doesn’t strike me as “heavily peated.” The nose suggests more mild to maybe moderate peat. There’s also a hint of the industrial funk that I usually associate with Campbeltown. Springbankishness. The palate is better than the nose. Full flavor, I’m sure owing to the high proof. The peat stands out more, and now this seems well into the moderately peated realm. Smoke and brine. Maybe a very slight iodine note, which as an Islay fan is very welcome. Lemon hard candy. The casks come across as mostly ex-bourbon, with plenty of vanilla. Malty. There’s also a little bit of dark fruit and chocolate, making me think a few Oloroso casks were included in the batch. This appreciates some time and a little water. Too hot for me at full strength, but I also found that I liked it more the longer I sat with it. It comes across as young, but enjoyable and reminds me of Ardnamurchan’s young whiskies. I’m giving it the same rating I gave the 12 year, but I’d have the 12 year as slightly better. I like the heavier peat and the higher proof of this one, but the 12 is so well balanced with a little bit of everything.