Kingsbarns Dream to Dram

Good amount of spice and hints of vanilla

Here’s a new whisky from a new, Lowland distillery: Kingsbarns. Dream To Dram is their first, regular release and I believe there’s whisky that’s blended from stocks ranging from 3-4 years old- so it is technically a single malt Scotch. The malts used were taken from first fill, ex-bourbon casks and first fill, toasted & re-charred wine casks- with the majority of liquid coming from the ex-bourbon. It’s bottled at 46% ABV and I picked this bottle up online for $46. It’s super, pale yellow in color (which is all natural and non-chill filtered) and produces sparse, thin legs and very tiny drops when you spin it in the glass. The nose features lots of biscuity meal and banana bread with nice hints of vanilla, orchard fruits and lemon zest. Fresh cut oak also makes an appearance along with some ground, white pepper if you get down in it deep enough. The palate shines with apples, pears and honey sweetness. More vanilla and oak arrive mid-sip and turns this thing towards a heavily bourbon-themed dram. Youthful zip and a slight harshness, just like a young, American bourbon (minus the corn) keeps this pretty well rounded- although the higher ABV doesn’t create as much heat as I anticipated. The finish was medium in length and overall dry, with some harsh abrasiveness that’s a little rough to work around. I did notice this aspect had faded a bit as I worked through the bottle and some oxidation helped smooth it a bit more, but it also dulled the orchard fruit flavors in a negative way. Overall, there’s lots of promise with Kingsbarns in my humble opinion. Seven or eight years in the barrel will probably work wonders, as would some sherry cask finishing, I think. This inaugural release is still solid, especially if you like your scotch whisky to mimic bourbon. This could make some nice, fruity cocktails and even hold up with an ice cube or two. 3.25 stars with a quarter star bump for the elevated ABV and reasonable price point. I’ll be keeping an eye out for future releases from these guys for sure. Cheers.

Stop number 109 on the SDT is Kingsbarns. This Lowland distillery is a newcomer to the scotch game, having only been established in 2015. Dream to Dram is their first general release and is a NAS single malt that is basically a 3+ year old. It’s matured in mostly first fill bourbon casks from Heaven Hill, but also a few heavily charred wine casks. Bottled at 46% ABV and is non chill filtered and natural color of a light white wine. This sample was provided by @LeeEvolved who jumped in with me on grabbing some nice bottles for this little bonus round of our journey to try every active (and some inactive) Scottish distillery. Immediately you are hit with a warm, creamy vanilla on the nose. Very fruity, baked pears and apples and some green grapes. Green oak, coconut, lemon, very perfumed and floral as well. Very nice for such a young whisky. Some light barrel char and subtle wine notes. Anise, menthol, herbal, barley sugar. Pineapple and green bananas. The palate is intense and spirity. Slightly rough, but also smooth at the same time. Lots of sharp oak, anise, licorice, ginger, herbal. A bit of toffee and vanilla, honey, slightly malty. Pears, lemon, pineapple. Some chili spice at times A medium bodied mouthfeel that is creamy and mouthwatering. The finish is medium length with pears, oak, vanilla and dry. I remember a few years ago Ralfy, the Exalted One, did a video from Kingsbarns and interviewed the young guys who were running the distillery. I believe one was the master distiller, who said that they were after a lighter style with a pear profile. Well, they nailed it. Lots of pears in here. It’s surprisingly good for a 3 year old and I would love to see what this does with another 5-10 years on it. It’s spirity and young for sure, but also has great flavors. Not too complex, but that’s to be expected at this age. If you want a good, traditional, bourbon matured scotch, keep your eye out for Kingsbarns in the future. 3.75 Cheers