Glengyle Distillery Kilkerran Work in Progress 5 Bourbon Wood 9 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky (700ml)

The toasted marshmallow and cereal-fruity opening sniffs are reminiscent of a decent blend. Like the 7 year old edition tasted previously, this develops with pleasing fruity notes offering shades of apple and unripe pear. Shows a lovely balance of fruit and controlled peat in the mouth. Quite juicy at mid palate. Concludes dry, salty and gently peppery with a subtle liquorice/peat fade. Once again the oak plays second fiddle - which makes for a pleasant change. 46% Alc.Vol.

Other reviews... The first Kilkerran “work in progress” bottling from Glengyle distillery appeared in 2009, and the ultimate aim is to bottle a 12 year old expression. For now, we have separate sherry butt-matured and bourbon barrel-matured expressions for 2013. The bourbon-aged variant offers vanilla, cinnamon, milk chocolate, ripe apples, and ultimately, slightly smoky mango notes on the nose. Spicy on the palate, with blood orange and a hint of peat smoke. The medium-length finish is drying, with a wisp of smoke. 86 points - whiskyadvocate.com (Vol. 22, #3) Reviewed by: Gavin Smith

...I always liked Springbank/Cadenhead's way of writing 'matured in oak' on their bottles. Or maybe do they still have chestnut wood? Colour: white wine. Nose: yes! It's got this typical sooty profile that's also only to be found at Springbank, it's to be wondered if it's not 'in the air' over there in Campbeltown, just like 'flor/jaune yeast' in Jura or Jerez. So soot, wet sand and gravel, sour apples, high-quality artisan yoghurt, ale, old wood, damp cellar, mushrooms and quite some freshly ground grey pepper, which is very peculiar... Love this nose. Mouth: love this palate even more. Everything is perfect, the oranges, tangerines, tar, smoke, grains, spices, ashes, liquorice, lemon, grape seed oil, the mineral side... Just between us, I don't think it's 'WIP' anymore. Unless that means Wonderfully Interesting Petrol ;-). Finish: long, on the same flavours. I mean, long and perfect. Comments: considering the current avalanche of depersonalised NAS oak/wine bombs that taste all the same (right, more or less), this stylish Kilkerran is amazingly refreshing. Kudos. 91 points - whiskyfun.com