It’s always a good thing when friends to go to special occasions and bring back special occasion booze! In this case it was ‘Erik Elixir’ that went to Campbeltown and decided the 17 year old Kilkerran bottled for the Campbeltown Malts Festival was of a high enough standard to be brought back to The Netherlands.

Kilkerran, made at Glengyle distillery, normally follows Springbank’s 2.5 times distilled regime, but in this case it’s a triple distilled version. Also, at 17 years old it’s pretty old for a Kilkerran. As in, it’s the oldest stated vintage so far. The distillery only restarted in 2004, so there aren’t too many options for much older stuff, but technically 18 or 19 should not have been impossible. 19 years old would have been pushing it, since the distillery opened in March and the festival was in May.

Let’s find out what this one is about. Generally I really enjoy Kilkerran, also because it is so similar to Springbank, and I really love Springbank. So, I guess we’re all good here!

Sniff:
A rather timid, but mature nose. Pithy lemon, green malt, oak, and a note of brine. There’s a whiff of soot, some banana and chalk.

Sip:
The palate is a ‘real’ Springbank. Slightly funky with hessian. A bit more sharp than expected. Oak, old barley, slightly coastal, a touch of salinity and a very oily mouthfeel.

Swallow:
A long finish and a big one. The same flavors as before, but the bite is gone. Therefore it’s giving more space to the rest. The banana is back, as is engine oil and soot. Not smoky, though.

I guess this one does exactly what you hope it would do. I didn’t really get a huge difference on the triple distillation. The note of soot I got on the nose was a really nice addition and even though it’s a fairly new distillery, it makes for a really old style of whisky. Very, very good indeed!

89/100

At the time of writing the bottle goes for £ 150 in the secondary market.