Kirkland 22 Year Speyside Single Malt Sherry Cask Finish

Toasted walnut. Nutty. Sweet. A little bitter at the end.

Picked this bottle up at Costco for $82. One of the highest priced bottles I’ve ever purchased, but there’s no better value for whisky in the 20+ year range. The sip was extremely pleasant and smooth with no alcohol burn. There were complex flavors from fruit to smoke to vanilla and cigar. It’s the first time I’ve tried anything over 20 years old, and I was always curious how much of a difference the extra time made. At least for this whisky, it’s worth the extra time, and a few extra bucks.

Smells like caramel, maple syrup, vanilla, and floral notes. Has a bright spicy and bitter tobacco starting profile followed by smoke and woody flavors. The sherry part (dried plums) and apple mash toward the end are subtle for me, but it finishes sweet. It has a pretty pronounced peaty smokiness. Definitely has the oakiness from charred wood! I can only slightly see where they are saying orange marmalade (sweetness and bitterness), but its pretty subtle. Adding a bit of water makes it smell sweeter and more floral like honey, with vanilla and smoke. It is lot softer and smoother going down with a stronger floral and briney coastal flavor followed by peat and oak. Long finish of old leather and tobacco, which moves to grape skins (without the tannins) and dusty old roasted coffee, root beer, and marshmallow. Sherry finish is more pronounced.

An unexpected gem from the costco liquor store. Strong sherry presence on both the nose and taste, along with vanilla, raisins, chocolate, apples, and other fruits on the nose. Taste is fruity with a strong sherry presence. Spice hits second. Oak hits third for a smoky, woody finish. Goes down a bit thin, not as smooth as, say, a glenlivet 18 (not that it's a great comparison, but I'm not that experienced either), but definitely more flavorful. Overall, definitely worth the price tag!

Color is rich mahogany, doesn’t seem chill-filtered, although it doesn’t state so on the bottle. Medium to high viscosity. Nose is delicate, with notes of fruit, raisins, black pepper, and caramel. Sherry is very pronounced even though it has only been finished in sherry casks for 6 months (maybe they didn’t quite rinse them before pouring this in?) Palate is sweet and creamy, with lots of fruit, nuts, oak, and vanilla. A touch of bitterness on the back is indicative of the age statement (22 years). Finish is medium length, but pleasant, with the same fruit and bitter vanilla notes. A splash of water in this 46% ABV dram helps open its floral side, and honey and chocolate notes start to appear. It adds balance, and rounds the dram pretty nicely. Finish gains a touch of smokiness on the back that you would typically see in older whisky. As time passes, the nose and the palate do change somewhat towards a more floral character, but not as much as an old Glendronach. It doesn’t take away from the character of this whisky though, and it remains a very pleasant and greatly enjoyable dram. Absolutely worth it’s $80 price tag.

Neck Pour: just opened Nose: dark fruits, honey, ripe apple - i like this aspect the most. Taste: thinner than I expected but reasonable for the 46% ABV. Oak and malt with a definite sherry influence/ essence, good amount of vegetal pepper. Finish: astringent on the sides of the mouth, dark fruit lingers for a few a minutes. Value: was excited for this but am a little disappointed, hopefully it opens up a bit as the bottle goes down. P.S. 2 months later, 1/2 a bottle down, and this has improved immensely. Numerically only popped up 0.75 points on this site, but the early vegetal note has completely fallen away, and a solid oak and sherry note are taking the lead with a cinnamon apple flourish. Going to buy 1, possibly 2, backup bottle(s) at this price. 5.0 - go out and buy all of the stock you can find. 4.0 - must buy at least one bottle before you die. 3.0 - solid, must try at a bar, or mooch from a friend. 2.0 - didn't like it, you may. 1.0 - you may have the palate of my dog, and he licks his own ass.