Kilkerran 16yo (2022 Release)

Kilkerran 16yo (2022 Release)

Region: Campbeltown 

ABV: 46%

Price: £70.00

The 2022 edition of Kilkerran 16yo is a mixture of 70% bourbon, 30% sherry casks.

Nose

Initially the bourbon casks dominate the nose alongside heaps of citrus such as lemons and mandarins. Behind the citrus we’re getting light peat smoke and a hint of Campbeltown funk. Giving it some air and we’re getting Robinsons summer fruit cordial - strawberry concentrate, raspberry, and a touch of cherry. There’s also a creamier note that reminds us of custard cream biscuits.

Palate

Like the nose the palate has a lot of citrus fruits. We’re also getting a little funk on the palate in the form of iodine and saltwater. There’s also some strawberry jam, with a hint of caramel, and golden syrup. The peat shows as slight ash note. It’s got a good mouthfeel with some pepper spice and ginger lingering on the palate after the sweeter notes fade. The bourbon casks are definitely more prominent on the palate, not that we’re complaining.

Nose (with water)

On the reduced nose a little more of the sherry comes through along with more smoke. There’s now more chocolate and caramel with the water having reduced the fruit intensity. We’re also getting some spice in the form cracked black pepper. There’s also very faint cinnamon, a little ash, and oak.

Palate (with water)

With water the flavour composition changes drastically. There’s now liquorice allsorts, with a floral notes like lavender and some heather. The fruit has receded into the background, and we’re getting some puréed raisins from the sherry casks. It wasn’t overly spicy before, but it’s definitely sweeter now. The finish is medium length with liquorice remaining on the tongue along and some synthetic sweetness that reminds us of Bournville chocolate. It has also retained the good mouthfeel.

Conclusion

Can we call this a session dram? It might not be for everyone, but we could easily finish a bottle of this in an afternoon. For us we could easily drink with or without water depending on how we’re feeling on any given day. This is very reasonably priced and easily an 8.5/10.

We’ve reviewed a fair few Kilkerran releases now and because our scale takes in to consideration price you’ll find several of these have been given the same score. If you’re interested the below is a list of the bottles in order of preference ignoring price.

1. Kilkerran 8 year old (Batch 4 - re-charred oloroso sherry casks)
2. Kilkerran 16 (2022)
3. Cadenheads Kilkerran 12 (57.8%)
4. Kilkerran 8 Port Casks (2022)
5. Kilkerran Online Tasting Week 2021 5 year old
6. Kilkerran 8 Sherry Casks (2022)
7. Kilkerran 12 year old

Score: 8.5/10

• 10 - Perfection. A whisky that we’ll remember forever.
• 9 - Amazing. We’d pay through the nose for a bottle.
• 8 - Great. Pick this up at RRP.
• 7 - Good. Happy to have a dram or two but wouldn’t buy a bottle.
• 6 - Passable. Would accept a dram, but wouldn’t seek it out.
• 5 - Poor. Would drink if it was the only option.
• 4 - Bad. Maybe it can be saved by ginger beer?
• 3 - Awful. It can't be saved by ginger beer.
• 2 - Pour it out
• 1 - We’ve never tried a whisky rated this low and hopefully never will.

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