Kilkerran 8yo Cask Strength (2026 Release) & Longrow 100 Proof Batch 2 (2026 Release)

Kilkerran 8yo Cask Strength (2026 Release)

Region: Campbeltown

ABV: 57.7%

Price: £62.95

The latest edition of Kilkerran 8 year old was again fully matured in bourbon casks, and bottled at 57.7%. No details on the number of bottles released.

Nose

The nose opens with some crushed custard cream biscuits, honeydew melon, cocoa nibs, green peppercorns and a top note of white wine poached pears. There’s a certain dirtiness, we’re not sure if there's any peat or remnants of peat from the distillation run, but there’s definitely an earthy, vegetal thing going on for us. It’s fairly spiritous, but not in a new make-way, there’s enough cask sweetness but you’re definitely getting the malt showing through more. Time and air brings out a little apple, jarred artichoke hearts and a tiny bit of butterscotch. 

Palate

The palate has an initial hit of barley sugar sweetness, following into quite a strong appletiser note, and some charred wood staves too. The finish is dominated by an artificial peach flavour, alongside some more bitter grapefruit and gooseberry. The mouthfeel is quite nice, it feels quite weighty, and the finish does linger on for a decent length. The palate feels a bit split - initially tart, woody and slightly bitter, but then fresher, fruitier and zingier on the finish. It’s a little weird, as we usually experience those in the other order. That possible peat note from the nose isn’t really found on the palate, there’s a slight fermented-vegetable thing but not really any smoke for us. It’s also got a good alcohol balance, we’d have guessed slightly lower than 57%. 

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose feels a little sweeter upfront, more cask, more vanilla, a little grape mist, green apple skin and pear drops. Not a massive change overall, just more bourbon cask influence for us. 

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate follows the same suit as the reduced nose with more vanilla and butterscotch sweetness, alongside lime zest, gooseberry jam and lots of poached pear. It’s much fruiter now, and actually starts to sing a bit with a drop of water. 

Conclusion

We do enjoy Kilkerran in bourbon, and this is a solid example. It suffers a little from its youthfulness, we think some of the rougher, bitter notes could be softened with age, but it’s a solid Campbeltown dram. 

Score: 7/10

Value

We sound like broken records, but Glengyle as usual provides good value while also being more obtainable than its sister distillery.  

Longrow 100 Proof Batch 2 (2026 Release)

Region: Campbeltown

ABV: 57.1%

Price: £60.00

The second release in the Longrow 100 Proof range, which replaced the Longrow Red series, was matured in bourbon and red wine casks. No bottle count has been released.

Nose

The nose opens with a sour, slightly lactic note, moving into red fruits, think ripe strawberry, red currants, and somewhat of a metallic note, copper coins perhaps, right at the end. The alcohol balance is good, there’s a light pepperiness but it’s not overpowering at all. Going back, we’re finding cured meats, sage leaves, Pinot noir wine, and a milder ashy peat smoke than we would have expected - it’s actually quite gentle in the smoky area. 

Palate

The palate opens with that same metallic note, a real coppery, dirty flavour initially, moving into candied ginger, thyme leaves, cherry jam, and cocoa butter. There’s a lot more ashy peat smoke on the palate, it kicks into gear, but then only lingers on the finish - the predominate flavours being sweet red fruits. The mouthfeel is fine, there’s some texture here, and we’re also finding notes of brandy snaps, old leather and menthol. 

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose feels more on the bourbon side, sweet buttercream, vanilla, maybe some almonds, but there’s a top note of red fruits and a background peat smoke. The smoke is still soft though, and water seems to have softened that metallic note we found previously. 

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate feels a little thinner, it’s lost some texture, and there’s more of a dirty, earthiness appearing. The red fruits seem like they’ve sat on a barbecue for a while. There’s also a bit of black pepper and chili heat that’s appearing towards the finish. We’d skip water on the palate. 

Conclusion

We like the change from the Longrow Red to Longrow 100 proof, and this is a good example of red wine maturation balanced with some bourbon casks to create something very drinkable. We’d like to have know which red wine casks went into this - they feel on the lighter, fruiter side, but that seems to work quite well with the punchier Longrow spirit. For us it’s a 7/10. 

Score: 7/10

Value

Getting any Springbank distillate at cask strength for £60 is a pretty good deal.

• 10 - Perfection. One in a million
• 9 - Outstanding. Exceptional whisky.
• 8 - Great. Would seek this out.
• 7 - Good. Quality whisky.
• 6 - Above average. Happy to have a dram.
• 5 - Average. Drinkable whisky.
• 4 - Below average. Passable.
• 3 - Flawed. Noticeable negatives.
• 2 - Defective. Significant faults.
• 1 - Offensive. Pour it out.

If you like what you’ve read then check out our social media (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) to get notifications of when we post a new review or just to chat about whisky with us.