Kilkerran New Make Spirit

I will never pass up the opportunity to try new make, especially one that is not commercially available, like the one from the Glengyle distillery. This new make, destined to become Kilkerran single malt, was distilled on 17th December 2015. I scored it at the wonderful Spirits in the Sky festival. Obviously, it is very alcoholic with its 63,5% ABV, but underneath lurks a great spirit that is sweet on barley sugar – which also reminds me a bit of white chocolate – and some rice waffles. I also immediately offers stable scent, which is undoubtedly from the peat, used to dry the barley. It also reminds me a bit of – don’t laugh – yesterday’s pan in which sausages were fried. Yes, this is quite umami. Very powerful arrival, but quite clean and smoky. There is not a lot of sweetness on the palate, but all the more pepper. Surprisingly absent is the typical taste of overcooked vegetables. I get none of those here. The finish is immensely long, without losing its smoky character. It should come as no surprise that Kilkerran is such a wonderful whisky, if you taste this spirit. Leave this to sleep in good wood and you can hardly go wrong.