Kininvie 23 YO Signature
Kininvie 23 YO Signature, 42,6 %
With this brand new release William Grant & Sons, the owner of Kininvie Distillery, have decided to move away from numbered batches of their 23 YO. The Kininvie 23 YO Signature is the first core expression from the distillery. They have previously released three numbered batches of the 23 YO (see my review). They also have a 17 YO for Travel Retail, but this is still released as numbered batches.
All the releases from Kininvie have an unusual ABV of 42,6 %. I asked Brian Kinsman, the Malt Master at William Grant & Sons, to explain why they had come up with this exact ABV. Here is Brian's answer:
“Kininvie single malt scotch whisky has a classic Speyside character with a rich fruity, floral aroma and taste. One of the key contributors to fruity character is the presence of acetal in the whisky and the level of acetal is dependent on the alcoholic strength of the bottled product. There is a natural equilibrium where higher ABV favours the presence of acetal. Therefore when bottling Kininvie we have looked at the balance of flavour at various ABVs and feel the perfect bottling strength is 42,6 %. This gives the optimum balance of alcohol strength, fruity character and mouthfeel.”
The Kininvie 23 YO Signature, I assume, is the one you get when ordering the Kininvie 23 YO in Norway (NOK 999, 1897402) and Sweden (SEK 1290, 9213502), but in neither country do they give any batch info so they could still be selling batch 3 of the 23 YO.
Nose (22/25): Fruity, with green apples and a hint of oranges. Vanilla and vanilla ice-cream. It has a rich and creamy nose. The 'floral note' is certainly here, but I would maybe describe it as bit green or grassy.
Taste (21/25): Full and creamy mouthfeel. Spicy and tannic. Oaky spices. Grassy and herbal.
Finish (22/25): Medium to long finish. Orange peel, a touch of orange zest, and sweet fruit drops. A bit dry. Slightly nutty, and still a bit green.
Balance (22/25): A very nice dram. If you like your whisky fruity and 'green' then this is one for you.
Score (87/100)
Sláinte! - Thomas
