A whisky I reviewed only a few weeks ago. I wasn’t overly thrilled back then but for some reason I liked it even less this time.

Kilkerran 9yo, sherry wood. Image from Whiskybase.

Sniff:
Heavy and cloying with hints of cheese and quite a bit of oak. Rather dirty and not necessarily in a good way. Some vanilla behind the cheese too. It goes to some spices with a hint of pepper.

Sip:
A tingling mouthfeel, again with a hint of pepper. Not shart, and the cheesy bit is gone. Some vanilla, old apple peels and rather creamy.

Swallow:
The finish is rather gin like and spirity. Moldy oak.

Anyway, I guessed for a Ben Nevis 12, at 46%. Mostly because of how dirty is smelled. Kilkerran is in that same league with this bottling, apparently. I am glad that in my previous notes I didn’t like the nose at all either. There is some consistency in what I do, or so it seems.

30 points today, 20 for the ABV and 10 for only being three years off in the age department. I climbed from 22 or so to 15 with these marks. Utterly ridiculous that with such a sad score I could still climb 7 spots. What do find commendable that two guys got the exact whisky right this time. That’s rather surprising!

Kilkerran Work in Progress 5, 9yo, Sherry Wood