Kilkerran Work in Progress 5 Sherry Cask

Have you tasted the bourbon cask, Volks? Serge rated that one a 91 and heaped lavish praise upon it in his No Awards last December.

Here's the link: whiskyfun.com/2013/….

And whiskybase: whiskybase.com/whisky/42683/…. I have a bottle of this one but I have yet to open it. Never tasted it either. . . .

@volks: I like your reviews and trust your point of view, by the way. Usu. I'm within a point of your scores in terms of my own taste.

I suspect the bourbon wood is good, but not a 91. Maybe an 89 or something like that. Just a guess. Serge's taste tends to gravitate towards whiskies that remind him of very old expensive bottles. He has tasted some very old and very expensive bottles in his day and they have influenced his palate. He likes whiskies that tasted like they were bottled decades and decades ago. I find his eccentricities to be quite interesting and in many ways his taste is incomparable. Many reviewers forget that there are bottles with quite "young" whisky inside that were bottled fifty years ago. A seven year from 1962, etc. etc. I think the WIP bourbon wood may be like that. . . .

@rigmorole Lovely to hear from you! I havent tried the sherry no but both of these whiskies have been praised very highly as far as i know. I think Jim murray gave this one lofty credentials as well. I think for me im really discovering old whisky at the moment and enjoying those flavours more than young'ns which im finding a bit harsh at times. But i think by 12 years this'll be pretty special. Im sure you will enjoy your investment. And depending on how long you bottle lasts it would be fascinating to taste along side a 12 year old

I'm about 1/2 way through a bottle of the WIP Bourbon Wood. I'd confirm @rigmorole's assumption, that while good, it is not that good. It still has a ghost of "new make" lingering about. As a positive, I suppose that really allows you to explore the spirit as opposed to the influence of the barrel, but I am beginning to suspect that, outside of peated Islays, I prefer the barrel's influence whisky - to the tune of about 18 years it would seem. These younger ones, Laddie 10 as well, just don't do it for me. I'd probably score the WIP Bourbon Wood somewhere in the low to mid 80's, depending on my mood. Good enough that I will buy next year's WIP, but not good enough to buy another bottle of this year's. Hopefully the sherried version will come around with some time. Maybe it could find its place in a tasting lineup - sometimes a whisky needs a good comparison to find its place.

@Onibubba wise words. I think in another 2 or 3 years this whisky will be something to re-buy

@Onibubba, very interesting and informative comments. Well said.

I have to wonder if there is batch variance in the bourbon wood. Serge at Whisky Fun loved his bottle so very much. Based upon hearsay, it seems that either some folks really have different strokes on this one, or there is some fairly significant batch variance . . . or, gods forbid, Serge got his hands on a special bottle that (unbeknownst to him) was far better than average for the bourbon wood WIP 5. Who knows? I have an unopened bottle and I'm wondering when to try it. There have been worse conundrums to ponder ;)

@rigmorole, my guess is that there is not much batch variation in this one, or in the sherry version for that matter. It is just that it is a younger un-peated malt that allows you to really get at the malt. That's either your thing, or it isn't.

I suspect that I would have a similar reaction to one of the Bruichladdich Bere barley releases - Those who like them are mad for the taste. I don't think I would care for it though.

I do not regret the bottle, and I will buy next year's release as I am now intrigued by the thought of following the progression of this to a 12 year whisky! I will be sure to save a sample of this one for comparison.

@Onibubba a parallel tasting would be most engaging!