The chances of a whisky in the competition being a Campbeltown whisky kept increasing. The rule is that every region is represented at least once. With seven drams to go the chance was only some 14%, but every day it was getting higher.
Yesterday brought us a Speyside whisky, of which there technically is a 50% chance with half the distilleries in Scotland being there. It also made today’s guess all that much harder, statistically.
Image from Whiskybase
Sniff:
There’s grain and a certain earthiness. Slightly salty too. My first thought goes towards Springbank right away. Slightly smoky as well as salty. Some hay, and it’s dry and coarse. Some straw, quite some oak. A slightly green scent too. What’s interesting is that the combination of the smoke and the green flavors give this whisky a mezcal like scent.
Sip:
The mouth feel is very sharp and dry with that mezcal flavor again. Very sharp indeed, with some vanilla. It’s bone dry, with lots of oak and lots of alcohol. Farmy and slightly salty. The smoke is a bit like diesel smoke.
Swallow:
The finish is salty and dry, but also warming and long. There’s oak and it’s not as sharp as the palate by far. Very nice and rich, with vanilla and almond.
This dram can use a drop of water and that does bring down the sharpness on the palate a bit. It doesn’t make all that much of a difference to the finish and the nose.
From a reviewing perspective, this is a gorgeous dram. I was convinced it was a Springbank before the reveal, but this being a Glengyle is good enough in my book. They do use the same distilling regime and almost all other facilities, after all.
A gorgeous dram, maybe a tad too sharp on the palate for 90 points, but this sure ticks all the boxes of whisky I love. Dry, lots of different flavors with oak being there but not overpowering. The same goes for the spirit. There’s that hint of mezcal all throughout the whisky.
Add to that that this is available for 66 euros and you’ve got a winner on your hands. Now, all I have to do is find myself a bottle or two.
Kilkerran Work In Progress 7, Bourbon wood and cask strength, 11yo, 54.1%
