🥃 Whisky Auctioneer

I got to try this at the Whisky Fringe and thought it was superb. The Kilkerran folks told me it was 100% sherry matured, and not the 60/40 bourbon/sherry split listed here. The shop I bought my bottle from also proudly listed it as full sherry maturation. Only one way to find out then (and see if my festival-influenced opinion holds up)…let’s open the bottle. The nose is exactly how I remembered it: a cigar shop I used to go in to with my Grandfather when I was young, lashings of dark/ripe fruits (cherries, dates, raisins), salty Campbeltown funk, old wood and dunnage warehouses. It’s really superb and I can’t believe that it’s anything other than a full on sherry maturation (in high quality casks). The palate opens with dark chocolate, salted caramel, blackberries and a hint of mint. Then some gentle smoky notes emerge, and the Campbeltown funk is back. The finish leaves a wonderful coating of gentle, ashy smoke, sherry fruits, and sea salt. This is a really impressive release that fully lived up to my WhiskyFringe-derived expectations. It needs a small splash of water and some time in the glass to reveal its full treasures….patience is definitely rewarded!