Kilkerran Work In Progress 7 Bourbon Wood (54.1%, OB, 6000 Bottles, 2015)

• Category: Campbeltown single malt scotch whisky
• Origin: Glengyle Distillery
• Bottling: Official – J & A Mitchell & Company
• ABV: 54.1%
• Cost: £54.95
• Score: 89/100

What they say:

Released in 2015. Only 6,000 bottles available worldwide.

Nose:  Green apples mixed with marzipan, hot baked vanilla buns. Gentle smoke and fruit notes.  After  15 mins, smell madagascan vanilla pod seeds in warm full fat milk.

Palate: Puff of smoke mixed with tangy apple, elegant & mature, very well rounded.

Finish: Long, smooth, luxurious.

What I say:

The bourbon wood matured 7th instalment of the Kilkerran Work In Progress series produced at the Glengyle Distillery in Campbeltown. This one is presented at Cask Strength instead of their more usual 46% ABV. Reported to be ~ 11 years old. Thanks to Ben at Ben’s Whisky Blog for organising this sample.

Colour:

Bright and refractive full amber gold (10/20), small rounded droplets leave fine legs

Nose:

Full on vanilla straight off the bat, creamy and milky, condensed milk, a slightly zingy citrus fruit and crisp green apple juice edge dissipates, fresh pastries, porridge oats and cereal barley, something a little chemical and plastic (new pencil case) , a healthy smoke arises too

Taste:

Sublime in mouthfeel, silky smooth, rich buttery molten toffee on the tongue, the green apples return briefly, slightly mineral and chalky, putty (linseed oil), marzipan, almost flinty, hot beach sand, ozone, a warming peppery spice develops. With water this softens but becomes slightly more mineralic, spicy and bitter on the palate with mint and eucalyptus. Almost as if the spirit character suddenly dominates over the cask?

Finish:

Long, sour lime and bitters, wood smoke and minerals, perhaps a little too much oak wood?

Overall:

A powerful and slightly unusual expression. There is a mass of vanilla here from the cask but water snuffs this out and I feel suddenly transported back to the WIP2 and 3 editions I have tried in terms of vigour and power on the palate. A slightly more rounded impression is given here. This is surely uncompromising stuff but a little over-mineralic and spicy for my palate initially, it requires time and I can only imagine represents some of the classic expressions of Campbeltown’s heyday – whisky as it was meant to be?

Don’t take my word for it:

Malt Activists Kilkerran WIP7 Bourbon review

Malt-Reviews thoughts on Kilkerran WIP7 Bourbon review

Yoav’s comments at Whisky Gospel

Klaus’s thoughts at MaltKlaus’ Daily Drams