Kilkerran Work in Progress 3

Glengyle was founded in 2000 to offer a new lease on life on the old distillery that had been founded in 1872 and closed since the fifties of last century. The first cask was filled in 2004. On the 21st of May 2009 the first series of Kilkerran was released under the banner Work in Progress. By now, four WIP-bottlings have appeared. The first one had a white label, the second a grey one. This one has a green label, while the fourth has a yellow one. But I digress. Let us taste this third edition, which matured on bourbon casks for 7 years.

The nose is young with loads of malt, but also quite some apples and pears. Quite some brine and hints of peat. Pine cones! Light peppers.

It is nicely creamy on the palate. The white fruit seems to be served from a cardboard box, if you know what I mean. The pepper is louder, now. Ginger kicks in. Towards the end, a good dollop of vanilla and more peat than on the nose emerge. Yes, becomes spicier all the time. A twig of mint.

The finish is fairly long on pepper and something that reminds me of varnish.

This is not bad for a 7 Year Old. In five years time, this could be a winner. By the way, the name Kilkerran was chosen because the name Glengyle was already trademarked by Loch Lomond (they sold this at one point as a blend). Kilkerran is derived from the original name of the settlement where the distillery can be found today.