Kirkland 20 Year Speyside Single Malt Sherry Cask Finish

#Whiskybattle of #Costco white-labeled #singlemaltscotch (#KirklandSignature). Both were distilled by @alexandermurrayco and matured for final 6 months in Oloroso sherry casks at 46% ABV. Reviewed on 8/6/2018. ....…......….…........................................................................... Nose: The 18 year-old (on the left) has notes of creamy vanilla, green grapes, and raisins...with a slight hint of sulphur. Score: 88. The 20 year-old has stronger notes of vanilla (bean vs. cream), fresh pineapple, and honey. Better nose than the 18 without the sulphur. Score: 91. ....…......….…........................................................................... Palate: The 18 has notes of raisins, plums, and all the lovely dark, dried fruit. Slight alcohol burn. Score: 87. The 20 has more complexity; I can pick out notes of dried apricots, sweet caramel, honey, and brown sugar all in a smoother dram than the 18. No alcohol burn despite the same ABV of 46%. Score: 90. ....…......….…........................................................................... Finish: The 18 has a slightly sweet medium finish for a score of 86. The 20 has a nicer, lingering oaky dry finish with more flavor and depth. Score: 89. ....…......….…........................................................................... Overall Experience: It’s amazing how 2 more years in the barrel makes such a difference in every aspect (except for color, which are both tawny orange). The 18 gets a score of 87 and the 20 gets a score of 90. ....…......….…........................................................................... Value for Money: The 18 year old sells for a good value at $55 USD but the 20 year old is a more compelling value for just $3 more ($58). That’s 1 point for each $1! There’s a big difference between a 90 and an 87 in the way I rate my scotch. ....…......….…........................................................................... #whiskyreview #Speyside #scotch

Don’t be fooled by whiskey snobs on here who have convinced themselves that throwing relative value to the wind is an acceptable practice- for $55 this is a great 20 year staple scotch that eclipses many scotches at the $100 price point - And I should end this rant there; however: It’s spicy, has and above average complexity, it’s a little softer than the 18, the mouth feel is ... meaah, but the finish is quite satisfying. All n’ all the flavors are just a little disjointed in comparison to say... a center cut macallan at 7 times the price, but for the money you can’t go wrong. This is definitely worth picking up a few bottles next time you’re at Costco. 👍🏼

Nose - Sweet bing cherries, blackberry cider, spiced apple cider, sweet dough after a while. Taste - Sweet fruity peppery spice/heat/tingle, lightly oaky cherry/berry cider, orange zest/pith bitter, light ginger. Finish - Lingering spicy tingle, cherry/blueberry/blackberry sweet, bitter ginger beer tingle. Score - 83/100 Final Thoughts - Not sure if I'm having an off day or because the weather has finally cooled off & it's actually sprinkling/drizzling today but this wasn't as good as I expected it would be. Had a nice fruity/sherry nose but it seemed a bit off balance on the palate. Had this almost metallic fruity note but not quite there, similar to hints of metal I occasionally get in super dense/syrupy dried fruits. Overall, a very decent sipper that seems to have things mostly balanced, but there's just this intangible I can't pinpoint. If I was looking to sip on something sherried without thinking too much, this would fit the bill. I think this might also work very well in a sweeter highball. I think the flavors are strong enough that they would get complemented very well by some soda water. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - Not another

Color - A rich gold. Nose - sweet, vanilla, grassy, peach Palate - spicy, salty, explodes on the tongue, a slightly unpleasant after taste of dried leather. Finish - Medium long Water increases the vanilla smell and calms down the explosiveness on the tongue.