Kilkerran WIP 7 Bourbon Wood Cask Strength

Kilkerran WIP 7 Bourbon Wood Cask Strength, NAS, 54,1 %

Well, yesterday I reviewed my first ever Kilkerran whisky from Glengyle Distillery. Here we go with number two, the Kilkerran WIP 7 Bourbon Wood Cask Strength. WIP is an abbreviation for Work In Progress. The whisky was distilled in 2004 and bottled in 2015. The WIP releases come out once per year, one bourbon matured and one sherry matured. The twist this time was the fact that the bourbon release was bottled at cask strength. Hurrah!

In production they used floor malted barley from Springbank, with a touch of peat.

The Kilkerran WIP 7 Bourbon Wood Cask Strength is unfortunately sold out in Norway, we did get a few bottles to the country though and they sold at NOK 750 (2873301). No listing of this whisky in Sweden, and it appears to be sold out in the UK. That's what happens when you have a limited release of 6000 bottles I guess.

Nose (22/25): Vanilla and powdered sugar sprinkled over fresh, green apples. Sugary rain over an entire apple orchard, in fact. Delightful, but a bit 'simple', if you will. If I really go looking for it I can pick up a whiff of salt, farmyard and peat. OK, we are in Campbeltown. There is also some alcohol on the nose here, but I am in a forgiving mood today.

Taste (22/25): Super smooth and rich mouthfeel. Coats the whole mouth in oily, spicy, sweet and rich honey. Green apples still. The peat is a bit more pronounced, and it comes with spices - freshly cracked black pepper corns and dried chipotle chili.

Finish (21/25): Rather long finish. Rich and sweet all the way. Crisp.

Balance (22/25): I end up with the same score as the WIP 7 sherry wood, but they are two very different while still being closely related. Hmm...let's not dwell on that sentence too long. Onwards and upwards.

Score (87/100)

Image from Master of Malt.

Sláinte! - Thomas