So, these became available earlier this year, but they’re not from the same batch. The Bourbon cask matured one is from Batch 8, the other one from Batch 9. A bit weird, but with the Dutch importer of Springbank, you never know what’s going to happen.

Of course, these bottles were shared in my bottle-share group and were received quite enthusiastically. So, my remainder of the bottles wasn’t that big but I did manage to finish them yesterday. A sizeable glass from each to create a bit more shelf space and make sure the whisky doesn’t over-oxidize…

Kilkerran 8, Bourbon Cask, Batch 8, 55.8%

Sniff:
Very coastal with lots of basalt and granite. But, also, lots of coconut. There’s crisp barley, marram grass and sand.

Sip:
The palate arrives gently, but builds up to a chili heat quite quickly. Not a lot of oak, but there is barley, some Campbeltown funkiness, coconut husks, slightly oily.

Swallow:
A massive finish. Slightly less crisp, with more bread like notes. Still very coastal, but the coast with an oil rig close by. So it’s oily, with grainy notes, some oak, a slightly twig like bitterness too.

While I expected to love this one more than the sherry cask, I didn’t. It’s seriously good whisky, but it is slightly lacking in complexity, compared to others like the 12 year old, or in this case, the sherry cask.

87/100

Kilkerran 8, Sherry Cask, Batch 9, 57.5%

Sniff:
This starts off very funky with massive amounts of leather and dates. Engine oil, olive oil too. Quite a funky one indeed. There’s some wood, raisins and plums, dark dried fruit.

Sip:
The palate has some hot chili peppers on arrival, with some sharp oaky notes. There’s dark dried fruits, but also some mint. It’s not all dark notes. Leather, oil, raisins, twigs.

Swallow:
The finish is largely similar to the nose but starts with a bit of an afterburner. It mellows quickly and has notes of oak and a hint of coastal salinity. Otherwise there’s a puree of plums, dates and raisins.

This is a very typical whisky from Springbank’s distilling regime, even though it’s from the neighbouring distillery. You notice that they’re doing virtually the same thing in both places. The oily notes are great and thoroughly enjoyable, especially since it’s not only that but the dark fruity notes are huge too. This is big stuff.

88/100

Apparently, both (bourbon and sherry) whiskies are still available in the secondary market at very reasonable prices, or in Denmark…