Kilkerran 16 years old /46%/ – Glengyle Distillery was founded by William Mitchell in Campbeltown and operated from 1872 to 1925. Over 75 years later Hedley Wright, the chairman of J&A Mitchell & Co. (the owners of Springbank) and great-great nephew of William Mitchell bought the old buildings and in 2004 made the re-opening of Mitchell’s Glengyle Distillery a reality. Single malt produced there has been bottled under the Kilkerran brand since 2009. Kilkerran 16 years old was launched in the fall of 2020 and is the oldest expression of that single malt to date. The whisky was aged almost entirely in ex-bourbon barrels with a tiny addition (2%) of ex-Madeira casks.
Nose: slightly mineral, green apples, lemons, grapefruits, vanilla, flax seeds, graham crackers, bunch of fresh herbs, hints of hay and oak.
Palate: nicely balanced, sweet cereals, vanilla, salted caramel, milk chocolate, oranges, grapefruits, apples, white pepper, hints of aniseed, sea breeze and fading hint of peat.
Finish: long and slightly mineral, with notes of caramel, sea salt, lemon grass, pepper, hints of tobacco, peat and oak.