Kilkerran Distillery Only

This Kilkerran is 5 years old and matured on a port casks. It was put to sleep during the first year of production 2004 and released during the Springbank Open Day on the 18th of February 2011. It has an amber color with some pink hues. You can already see the influence of the cask on the color.

Well, the nose is special to say the least. The port cask gives this a sour, almost umami streak. I get broth and gravy on the nose, something that reminds me of julienne soup, with some dark fruit underneath. But the fruit struggles and fails to get through that meaty layer. Like I said: special. That is not to say that I like it. Au contraire. Water cannot save this one, although the meaty side makes place for some red fruit.

The attack is creamy and unexpectedly sweet. So the wine has the upper hand here. Sweet on red berries, gooseberries and some sultanas. Slightly sourish, almost winey. This is too much. I can hardly recognize whisky in this. Surely that is not the way it is meant to be. Water redeems the palate somewhat, but not enough. It remains too sour and too sharp.

The finish is long, but sourishly sweet, with or without water.

No, this is not good. Too much port, not enough whisky. Might as well simply pour myself a pure port and be done with it.