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As a Kilkerran fanboy I'm probably slightly prejudiced but I'm very happy the full bourbon cask maturation is back in this 8yo CS series. I get a whiff of smoke and then it opens up with honey, vanilla, light caramel, butterscotch, herbs, spices (green cardamom), green unripe pear, citrusy. A very warm mouthfeel, fatty and full. Lingers with a good medium long finish. No hard arrival even though it's north of 55%.

Grassy notes and a little peaty. A wonderful summer whisky and not too high in alcohol content.

Very nice, this Kilkerran 8 Bourbon. The finish is a bit to sharp. Would love to see this at 12 years old :)

UMAMI seaweed snack whisky

Quick hit review. Kilkerran (a.k.a. Springbank reloaded) is a diamond in the rough that rarely disappoints. Chalky, mineral and mildly peaty, the nose gravitates towards honey, citrus fruits and black pepper. On the palate, the fiery arrival is led by hot spices, lemon and briny peat smoke, emphasizing sour and bitter flavors. Grapefruit zest, salt and pronounced tannins remain in the long finish. It is a bit too edgy to justify a higher score, but certainly a very solid dram. RATING: 3.9/5.0 stars ≙ 86 pts → FIRST-CLASS [-]

Nose, beautiful lemony freshness, vanilla, vanilla flower, flower honey, tangy green apple, dry malted barley, a little hay, wood smoke, medicinal aspect on ether scents. Intense mouth, citric, citrus, it's oily, vanilla cream, black pepper, more dry hay, smoked with charcoal, then a little salt. Final, salty and peppery, with more meat smoked than seafood.

There's complexity in this one, but the aromas pass by like bits of a melody in a jazz song. You hear them and you know you know them and if you could just hear them once more, you'd be able to pick them out. I struggled with this one. It's challenging. But overall it's just a delicious bourbon cask with many little grace notes of complexity to dive into. Nose - mango-passionfruit-peppermint smoothie, skunky, dunnage, toasty barley, smoke, vanilla, umami, green peppers, (my wife smells cheese store, maybe some apricot Stilton) Water brings out saltier, maltier, dunnage notes and mutes the fruit Taste - full bodied, slightly oil, apricot, light smoky fire (burning leaves), some diesel, peach pits, chile, ; with water, slightly sweeter, less spicy Finish - medium length, golden raisin, honey, chile (or ginger), cold ash

Fantastic. Very rich and cake-like, but it pulls off that style well. Didn’t notice any peat in this, but that’s not surprising. I’m not so peat sensitive, and so something like the 8-10ppm of Kilkerran usually goes right past me. Pegged it as older, as it seemed to be pretty oaky. Regardless, it’s very good. I think the last 8 CS I tried was batch 2, and I feel they’ve improved since then. This is long gone I’m sure, but next time they do a bourbon cask release I’d try to grab one.

Good dram, although quite below the level of earlier 08yo cask strength. Like the Sherry new edition, it has a promising nose while the body is a bit flat.

after last heavy cask influenced Kilkerran 8yos this is clean, fresh and letting its Campbeltown DNA shine. The nose reminds me of some of the Sringbank's Local Barleys, unfortunatelly in the taste and finish it would probably need a few more years in the casks to meet the high standards set by Local Barleys. Still really good whisky at very decent price.

Vanilla, lemon, motor oil, lime candies, kiwi, unripe strawberries

A nice whisky. Due to the rather subtle barrel influence there is still plenty of room for the Kilkerran Funk. An honest and straightforward malt with character.

Very young on the nose. What is stated on the label! Either something is wrong with me and this is not my whisky, or I don't understand such high ratings from blood brothers...) In the initial nose, everything is green, not hidden distillate and quite coniferous. The taste is more interesting. Rounded off with honey notes of bourbon. A little sweet. Finish oak - honey with shades of coniferous forest and pepper. You have to be good at tipping to be worth it and look for advantages in it...( Nose - 20.5 Taste - 21 Finish - 20.5 Balance - 20 Rating - 82

Strong Spirit Characters: 2023.10.30. (in order of my preference) Ardnamurchan 6yo PST 2015 https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/213175/ardnamurchan-2015-pst 87- Kilkerran 8yo CS#8 bourbon https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/226523/kilkerran-08-year-old 87- Springbank 11yo LB 2011 https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/223472/springbank-11-year-old 87+ Distilled in Sutherland 5yo PST (2022) https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/221768/distilled-in-sutherland-05-year-old-pst 87+ Springbank 10yo OB 20/151 https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/180670/springbank-10-year-old 88- Springbank 12yo CS#24 https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/232398/springbank-12-year-old 88+ Springbank 5yo SS 2017 https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/230465/springbank-2017 88+ Daftmill CS 2010 Facebook group https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/196457/daftmill-2010 88+ Springbank 12yo CS#19 https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/138854/springbank-12-year-old 89-

Nose: spicy and spicy (cardamom, white pepper, marjoram, ginger) with coniferous/resinous notes, light fruit/caramelized light fruit (pears?), lemon, cotton candy, caramel, milk chocolate? peat notes, Tongue: initially spicy and lemony, similar to the aroma, then a larger dose of sweet accents such as caramel/toffee, also smoky and peat notes; a bit bitter/peppery and ostrava. Finish: medium long - pepper, ginger, lemon, caramel, a hint of peat, but less intense than in the aroma and taste. 84.0/100

Sweet, Green apple, Vanilla, Well balanced and I do not miss sherry a bit.

There's sometimes this feeling of mezcal smoke, which is rather interesting.

Nose: sweet, woody smoke, vanilla, grain, oak, nut Taste: sweet, vanilla, oak, smoke, malt, slightly dirty Finish: short to medium long. Pleasant sweet and smoky oak remains. Conclusion: Very relaxed on the nose and taste. The alcohol is well integrated for the young age. I can't define fruits. A great balanced but not overly complex whisky for 8 years. Water not necessary.

Random ensemble: 10Oct2023 Unnamed Orkney 14yo SV 2006 https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/171490/unnamed-orkney-2006-sv 86- Kilkerran 8yo OB CS Bourbon Cask Matured (2022) https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/226523/kilkerran-08-year-old 87+ Kilkerran 8yo OB CS Sherry Cask Matured (2023) https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/226522/kilkerran-08-year-old 85+ Springbank 12yo OB CS #24 (2023) https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/232398/springbank-12-year-old 88- Hazelburn 12yoOB 2010 Oloroso Cask Matured (2023) https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/219488/hazelburn-2010 89- Glenlivet 12yo DD 2007 https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/139283/glenlivet-2007-dd 89+

Initially the alcohol is slightly invasive, perhaps also because the bottle has only recently been opened. By letting the malt rest for a few minutes in the glass, the power of the alcohol relaxes and the typical notes of Campbeltown emerge that I like so much: the sea, the salt, but also grandma's cake, the one with almond paste and sugar veil. As the minutes pass, the whisky changes and with each tasting new and different sensations develop.

Very nice and balanced, if not very complex malt that pushes all the relevant buttons for me to bring about enjoyment. Notes from a blind tasting, whereby a tip made me very sure that it was a Kilkerran, which would also fit the profile. The usual high level of the 8er bottlings from Glengyle. The first batches were a bit more elegant and delicate, but this one has more punch. Absolute price/performance ratio miracle! Comparable only to the Laphroaig 10 CS.

[85~87] nice, no bad marks, there is something to discover, purchase incentive only if the price-enjoyment ratio is good :-)

Vanilla (white candy), a bit of citrus, candied milk, a bit of smoke, Milka chocolate with salted TUC crackers - perfectly reflects it. The start is quite sweet. But not very sympathetic at first reception. Conquers a little dry manure: D at times. The taste is another barrel. The whisky profile itself is great. Slightly oily, with a nice abv. Highly drinkable. At the beginning, the mucosa must assimilate the percentage abv. Then, when we are "warmed up", the base notes of hazelburn 10 appear, but slightly "turned up" They fill the whole mouth. There is noticeable honey, there is wax, a bit of fresh grass, citruses, salty/marine climates appear at the end. Finish is the weakest point here. Medium, quite short, sweet notes pass quickly enough to give way to a wooden note

21+ 22 20 21 84+ Pretty nose, good palate, quite a warming and youthful finish, but overall a nice and tasty lemonade style young whisky!

Good, but I'd still pick any of the 12 yo batches I tried so far over any of the 8 yo CS batches. Apparently Kilkerran needs more than 8 years to really come of age.

interesting, without the influence of sherry, although it seemed young... smoke, peat, fruit, a little vanilla, sweet and quite spicy. 21.5-21.5-21.5-21.5 Tried 05/03/2024 25ml from the sample. Drinkable, fresh, youthful. I will leave a preliminary assessment.

I'm a Springbank+Glengyle fanboy, so my rating has to be seen in context... 90/100. Not particularly complex in taste but the music plays on the tongue, the mouthfeel, the oiliness. Perfectly seasoned.

This batch is a little less complex, but overall it is neither good nor bad, and is much better than Shirley.

Nose: Malty, doughy, chalky, herbal vegetal note almost like unripe green apples. Hint of heather peat, hint of pink strawberry bubblegum, a mineral note along with ginger, white pepper and herbs. Palate: Sweet with mellow spice on arrival, barley sugar, yellow fruit sweetness, not just yellow apples but also sweet yellow plums. Vanilla, heather honey, heather peat and a puff of smoke. Smoke and unique peat on the malty sweet finish. I’m kind of bummed out, man. I was expecting a lot more.

Tasty, but the sherry version of the eight tasted better

The first batches, batch #1 to #3, were all matured ex-bourbon cask. I remember them differently than this one. Softer, creamier, more mature effect. And actually: a comparison with Batch #2 from 2017, which at 55.7% has almost exactly the same alcohol strength as this Batch #8, strikingly confirms my dark memory. Softer Creamier More mature In Batch #2 I don't find any peaks, the whisky just slides onto the tongue, hangs around, leaves its aromas casually, just rolls along slowly. Wow, that's a massive difference. The bottle has now been open for four months, I was hoping for a positive influence from the oxygen input. Unfortunately negative, nothing has happened. Still: not a bad whisky, but Glengyle could do better with an 8 CS Bourbon Cask Matured. Yesterday (8/31/23) I compared the 8 CS Batch #8 with the Heavily Peated Batch #8. This is what came out: Compared to the Heavily Peated Batch #8, the 8 CS Batch #8 seems significantly sharper on the nose (don't inhale too deeply) and scratchier on the tongue, although at 55.8% it has a lower alcohol strength than the HP #8 its 58.4%. What obviously had no effect on the first three batches of Kilkerran 8 CS, all of which were matured ex-bourbon casks (because they were good), is now becoming noticeable with increasing age: a small proportion of sherry casks (10-20% ) can work wonders in taste.

Beautiful smoked ham marinated in spicy bourbon. The alcohol is clearly noticeable and the spices run through from start to finish. With a little water it becomes more relaxed and the smoke becomes sweeter, which I personally like better.

Insanely coastal, and it even comes with coconuts! Full review here: https://maltfascination.com/2023/10/16/kilkerran-8-from-bourbon-and-sherry-casks-55-8-and-57-5/

Tastes younger than some previous 8 year old bourbon cask matured versions (the 2017 and 2018 bottlings), with more citrus, maritime and smoky mescal notes in this 2022 bottling, and a bit less rounded and rich on the finish. Still high quality spirit, just a little younger and rougher in profile.

Marinated olives, hay, brown sugar, vanilla cream wafer biscuits, green fruits, flowers, earthy peat, hint of cooking oil, light orchard fruits, melon, forest floor, salt, something damp. Oily texture. Water reveals more fruits and a hint of medicine cabinet. Gorgeous whisky.

A decent dram for the original price - the cask isn't overpowering, a session dram.

This is a crazy whisky. But I love it. For me, it's a showcase of what Scottish whisky also can be and it's right up my alley. Nice thing! Full review in a flight of six Campbeltown drams: https://keinehalbendrinks.de/2023/05/10/campbeltowning-3/

The nose is quite bourbon obviously, vanilla, lemon, white fruits, honey, but it is also very mineral, on the pencil lead, with a hint of charcoal, a pinch of salt, and rock, quartz, slate. It's original. On the palate, nothing special, the fruits and vanilla live their lives, it's creamy, oily, honeyed, with the right amount of spice, it's well done. The finish is really crazy, very long, it prances like a runaway horse and carries us far away. Almonds, peanuts, a little more salt. Chestnut powder. After a second tasting, I realize that I like it, the nose is very fruity and the mineral notes are rather discreet in fact. https://ilikesky2020.blogspot.com/2023/10/kilkerran-8-yo-cask-strength-bourbon.html

One of my favourite Kilkerrans so far. I love their distillate. Fruity, chalky, peppery, salted heather honey.

Maybe a bit too rough and uninspired in one place or another, but overall a solid malt that does a lot of things right, but unfortunately doesn't really appeal to me.

Tasted blind and mistook for an older Islay with a more relaxed style of peat and enticing hits of bright fruit, fermented things, and dunnage. I've always had a soft spot for these Kilkerran 8s in bourbon and this is one of the better batches, to my palate.

Distillate shines through this whisky, which offers a more harmonic expression comparing to the Sherry cask pal.

Tasty, sweet, relatively unobtrusive vanilla, rather vanilla pudding, finish rather short, otherwise a wonderful pleasure

This is what I like most about whisky. Smoke, smokehouse, peat, fruitiness, vanilla sweetness and yeast cake in the finish, dark chocolate Pride. I have to think about buying another bottle. This year's bourbon cask release is in a class of its own.

very young and harsh whisky

Fruity and chalky, sometimes industrial, sometimes chemical (designed). For me it really depends on the moment with this bottle. Between 84 and 88... strange.

[Update 12/2024] Tried another bottle of this and my estimation of it has gone up a little bit, especially after visiting Campbeltown and trying a lot more Kilkerran. I really appreciate the earthy and autumn vibes on this whisky. [Original 7/2024] The grassy citrus of freshly crushed cane with limes and lemons faded under a wispy cloud of smoke as more hessian and fibrous textile notes arrived. Autumn gradually arrived with dry earth, piles of musty leaves, bales of hay, and hints of barnyard— always more like a decorative hay ride than petting zoo. Medium-bodied and mildly oily, those autumn flavors hit right away on the palate with lemon peel, peppercorns, earth, and the wispy smoke off a charcoal hut. Hay bales and dried leaves paired with malty apple cider donuts and orchard fruits crushed into cider, this time with a bit stronger barnyard element that drifted toward tobacco smoke and shredded rubber tire. The finish was medium to long with orchard fruit, dry earth, and a kiss of smoke. In the words of Blackpink’s Jisoo, “Not bad, but not good,” which we could amend to “not great,” as this whisky did enough to skooch into the realm of being pretty good. The flavors were uncomplicated but well-presented and integrated, if not always as distinct and fully formed as I wanted. Eight years surely sounds a bit young, but this was well-balanced, with only a little bit of spirited pepper showing through on the back end and the finish. Overall, a lovely whisky and an appreciated diversion from the wine and sherry cask Kilkerran I have had in my glass lately. I still think the heavily peated malt from Kilkerran does some of the same things as this, but with greater clarity and richness, so I gravitate toward those products.

Nose: Peat, wood, honey Taste: Peat, yellow fruits, apple Finish: Honey, oak, smoke

Edit: even more pleasant with air, wins as so often at Campbeltown. +1 point in the second evaluation Yes, I can't complain about that. The Kilkerran is not cheap as “only” 8yo, but it delivers.

Tried in the Pot Still in Glasgow, March 2023. Tried alongside the sherry 8-yo. Both different and have merit. On balance probably prefer this one but would love to try a marriage of the two - bring out the character of the distillery a bit more in the sherry. Fruitier on the nose than the sherry, as expected, and much more complex with water. An excellent dram.

Kilkerran Bourbon Cask Strength 2023 release 55.8%. 30ml sample Feb 2023. Aroma burnt biscuits, browned green apple, chalk, rust, burnt apple pie, nutmeg and some menthol. Settles on rusty. Taste is ryebread all over. I’d have sworn it was a rye, but this is a SMSW and can only contain malted barley by law. Maybe we are talking a first-fill rye-heavy bourbon cask here. Churros and punchy peat smoke. Chocolatey. Dark damp wood like a double oaked bourbon. Of course it also carries that peppery peat into the finish. I like this a fair bit. It’s like drinking a peated rye whisky. Two of my favourite styles. Unique, interesting. I much prefer it to the sherried Kilkerrans I’ve tried. 3.65/87 I was enjoying this, so I only had a small amount left to add water to. One drip of water. Tomato chorizo note comes out on nose. Taste becomes even more cardboard churros rye and the peat dies down further. More chocolatey. Equally as enjoyable. I don’t know, maybe if I’d added water to start I would have enjoyed this even more, but it wouldn’t need much at all. I definitely wouldn’t bring this down lower than 50%

Musty, herbal, light malty notes. Biting in taste, becomes more drinkable over time. Two years ago, I tried a similar release in bourbon, which was more interesting.

Almost a barley local.. really excellent side 89 by Serge..

As much as I am liking bourbon casks these days I think the sherry versions are better. This has vanilla and malt with a nice spice, but that’s all she wrote.

Very tasty whisky. In the glas, long legs, colour reminds me of white wine.

Aroma：Pronounced；Palate：87/100; Aftertaste：Med-Long.