Killowen 10 Year Peated Islay Cask Finish (Bonded Experimental Series)

Nose - vanilla ice cream. As I dig in some peach and pear kinda sneaks in. Slight metallic spice and notes of a grain whisky. I recall a day when I'd have thought this was young, but it clearly it isn't. It's just that a mix of grain whiskey and pot still can really provide some youth notes for me or at least did. Taste - When I first got into these guy's stuff I was surprised it didn't contain 25 year old whisky and that it used so much grain whisky. This showcases that grain whisky and clearly illustrates how wine casks give this an older whisky profile. The peated casks obviously don't do this. Instead they give us a very fair and honest look at this blend. Wonderfully well aged, but not old whisky. Amazing vanilla quality leading way to earthy and just insanely complex finishing notes. A few drop of water. nose - richer more full bodied and less metalic pot still notes. The peat elements are coming out more as well. Rich earthy elements, not very smokey. Just earthy. taste - ok the water did bring out MORE grain and pot still bitter/sour. I can again see where a younger me would find this more "off". But this is really a showcase of blending of single malts and grain whiskies then aged to give these earthy notes. Nowhere close to the last Killowen I had, which was a master piece, but this is exceptional. The finish lasts 10x longer than say 99% of bourbons I own (and I own way better bourbon than average). The mouth feel is great, rich, oily, full. 3.5 star from me. I want to give it a higher score just to skew up the lower scores but I'd never do that. The bottom line. if you see this and you like grain whisky, peat, and pot still...you need to buy it instantly. If you don't like all 3...well you might second guess this one.

The nose starts with a mild sourness of sautéed gooseberries with light sweets of candied lemon peel and sugared dehydrated mango then a mild seaside rocky minerality and charred sourdough bread followed by slightly sour sautéed apples, overripe banana and grilled lime that transitions to cocoa powder dusted almonds with medium ethanol burn. The taste is a thin mouthfeel starting with creamy tropical fruits before quickly veering towards a moderate sour and bitter spice that slowly fades to charred tangerine orange, baked banana bread and rocky seaside minerality then cocoa powder dusted almonds and sourdough bread followed by slightly sour sautéed apples, candied lemon peel and lime juice that transitions to a mild black pepper, ginger and ashy oak with medium ethanol burn. The finish is short with charred tangerine orange, cocoa powder dusted almonds, rocky minerality, and sourdough bread. The nose is predominantly sour but the creamy tropical fruits and sweet bready notes help prevent it from becoming overwhelmingly sour with the refill peated barrel providing light smoke and earthiness followed by the palate that the flavors are on the thin side with a creamy tropical sweet start that quickly falls into bitter ashy and sour mix that has minor sweetness before a quick finish that has light sweetness with an ashy spice. Overall, this is an average whiskey that has a youthful sourness with a mild smokiness from the additional aging in a refill peated cask and could have used a few more years to age and polish out those sour flavors. Killowen is a confusing brand that is vying for a spot in the premium space for their products which have so far turned out either sensational or down right underwhelming, but it seems like a coin toss on how each will turn out. For me, this one turned out to be another dud in their lineup and doesn’t justify that premium price of $90 for a 375ml bottle when there are plenty of better options that cost far less.