Have just tried > Kilkerran 'Work In Progress' 2

A distillery reborn
Kilkerran is a single malt whisky that is made at the Glengyle distillery. Glengyle is located in the town of Campbeltown, on the west Highland coast of Scotland. The distillery was founded by William Mitchell, who was co-owner with his brother John at the nearby Springbank distillery, in 1872. Glengyle’s history was relatively short and it closed down due to financial problems in 1925. It did not reopen until 2000, when Hedley Smith, the chairman of J&A Mitchell and Co. Ltd - the owners of Springbank, founded the Mitchell's Glengyle Ltd. Their aim was to completely refurbish the derelict buildings, restarting whisky production and attempt to kick-start the Campbeltown whisky industry. The first spirit was distilled in April 2004.

Local historical site
This Kilkerran Work in Progress 2 is only the second official single malt whisky released by Glengyle and is bottled at six years of age with a strength of 46% ABV. The first Work in Progress was released in 2009 and won much praise. The Work in Progress will be a series of whiskies released once a year and will chart the development of Glengyle’s Kilkerran whisky between the ages of five and twelve years. The name of ‘Kilkerran’ is derived from the Gaelic 'Caenn Loch Cille Chiarain' (which translates as 'head of the loch of Saint Kerran'). This was a site that Saint Kerran had travelled to in the Middle Ages and set up a religious group, which is where the town of Campbeltown now stands.

Our tasting notes
The colour of Work in Progress 2 is a light gold with a hint of brown. The nose is fresh and full of vibrant aromas - robust cereal grains come first and remain prominent throughout, with dried grasses (imagine straw), honey and vanilla notes coming through. There is also a zesty lemon tang and a whiff of floral honeysuckle. It is a promising beginning. On the palate, this is creamy and pleasantly coats the inside of the mouth. Again, the robust and distinctive cereal notes kick things off and they have a lovely gristy, oaty character. This gives a bittersweet edge which is complimented by some sweetness (think of honey and vanilla notes) and some fresh fruity notes (imagine the lemon zest again plus some green apples). There is also a pinch of pepper spice and increasing dryness with the dried grassy notes from the nose coming through strongly. This dryness and the peppery nature get carried through to the finish, which is of decent length for a young, fresh whisky. A dash of sugary honey sweetness hits the end of your tongue right at the end.

What's the verdict?
This is a very interesting and expressive whisky that seems a little older than it is. It shows amazing potential and is clearly well made and matured in quality casks. Kilkerran is showing plenty of character and it will be interesting to see how it develops as the Work in Progress series progresses with age. As it stands, 'part two' is delicious, creamy and equally as enjoyable as 'part one'. If you get the chance to try it, either by buying it (a bottle should be £30-35 from specialist whisky retailers) or by sampling it at a whisky show, then do so. We thank Iain Scott of Springbank for the chance to try this lovely dram.

Our Top 10 whiskies of 2009 (Part 1)

We have sampled and reviewed many whiskies over the last year at Whisky For Everyone, so we have decided to choose our top 10 of the new releases that hit the market in 2009. With so many whiskies to choose from we have called in the help of Chris Maclean - the esteemed manager of The Whisky Shop's London branch and a selected judge in the whisky category of the recent Spirits Business Magazine Awards.

Top 10s are always contentious issues as everyone has differing opinions. We have tried to select our Top 10 on quality, value for money and availability to the public. To this end, there are not really any single cask or independent bottlings included despite some excellent ones being sampled throughout the year. Some however are limited edition bottlings that are still available to purchase. We would be interested to hear your nominations also, so please add your comments at the bottom of this post. Our selections will be split in to two parts with numbers 6-10 below and 1-5 will be posted tomorrow. Here goes ....

6 - Laphroaig 18 years old
This whisky was introduced to replace the popular 15 years old in Laphroaig's core range. The famous distillery on the western isle of Islay took a gamble by doing this but it paid off. The nose is fresh and clean with an instant hit of pungent aromatic smoke (imagine damp moss and dry peat). This is balanced with vanilla, a briny saltiness and honey. On the palate, it is robust and powerful offering early sugary sweetness that combines vanilla and honey with malty cereals and spicy woodiness. The smokiness is less earthy and more like charcoal or burning embers/ash with some saltiness and a bitter iodine twist. The finish is very long with a bittersweet mix of vanilla, honey, warm gingery spices and pronounced smokiness that reminded us of creosote fence paint. A classic smoky dram.
Details - Approx. price £65/ Alcoholic strength 48% ABV/ To read full post - click here

7 - Hibiki 12 years old
A Japanese whisky that was released to compliment to well known and well loved Hibiki 17 years old (made famous by Bill Murray in the movie Lost in Translation). The owners, Suntory, kept the distinctive decanter style bottle but that is where the similarities end. It contains single malts from the Yamazaki and Hakushu distilleries plus aged grain whisky. The main difference is that it has been part matured in Umeshu (a type of Japanese plum wine) casks. This has a very promising nose - it is fragrant with fresh stone fruit (like cherries and plums), plus vanilla, honey and hints of peppery spiciness (imagine ground white pepper). The palate is refreshing, cleansing and mellow with lots of fresh juicy fruit notes (especially the plums) combining with vanilla and barley sweetness. It has a crisp, short finish with peppery spice coming through. A lovely clean, fresh whisky that makes you want another sip!
Details - Approx. price £40-50/ 43% ABV/ To read full post - click here

8 - Lagavulin 12 years old Cask Strength
This bottling by the iconic Lagavulin distillery on the western island of Islay formed part of drinks giant Diageo's annual Autumn Cask Strength limited releases. The nose is intense and full of peaty, earthy smokiness (reminiscent of wood embers and ash). This is joined by a mix of caramel, vanilla, toffee, some saltiness and a citrus element (imagine lemon zest). On the palate, this is full bodied with smokiness marrying perfectly with sweet barley, briny saltiness, caramel and something nutty (imagine hazelnuts). With water, the whisky opens up releasing more smoke and salt with a pepperiness coming through. The water also brings out fruity elements (think of tinned fruit, pears especially). The finish is long, drying and intense with that earthy, peaty smoke fading slowly. An excellent and complex whisky that is a real bargain for the price.
Details - Approx.price £55-60/ 59.9% ABV/less than 3000 bottles/ To read full post - click here

9 - Dalmore 18 years old
Released in the Autumn and was long awaited as it represents the first time that the Dalmore distillery have officially bottled an 18 years old. The nose is very pleasant, sweet and rich with plenty of malted barley that is quickly joined by the classic sherry cask characteristics - dried fruits (think of raisins and sultanas), candied peel (especially oranges), nuts (imagine walnuts and almonds) and caramel. On the palate, this is full bodied and silky with plenty of sherried dried fruit, especially raisins, and this is complimented by a lovely woody, nutty spiciness ( a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and walnuts). There are also other elements - slightly bitter candied orange peel, caramel, vanilla and a hint of dark plain chocolate/cocoa powder and roasted coffee. The finish is rich, fruity (the dried fruit/candied peel again) with warm spiciness (imagine cinnamon and cloves). This is a lovely, rich and smooth whisky.
Details - Approx. price £75-85/ 43% ABV/ To read full post - click here

10 - Kilkerran 'Work in Progress'
Kilkerran is the first official single malt release from the new Glengyle distillery in Campbeltown. The whisky may only be five years of age but we believe it shows great potential and had to have it in our Top 10. The colour is light and straw-like, with a nose that is highly aromatic and full of promising youthful vibrancy. There is a mixture of sweet cereal grains, fresh green fruit (think of pears and apples), something powerful and herbal (imagine dried grasses) and a whiff of peppery peat smoke. On the palate it feels creamy in the mouth and the cereal, green fruit and grassy elements from the nose are joined by a sugary sweetness (imagine icing sugar), vanilla and zesty citrus (think of lemon and orange). The finish is long with a hint of earthy smokiness and woody oak coming through, before turning slightly harsh and spirity right at the end. A very pleasant and highly characteristic whisky that may be robust, youthful, vibrant and not to everyone's taste. Watch out for future releases with interest!
Details - Approx. price £30-35/ 46% ABV/ only 12000 bottles/ To read full post - click here

Part 2 will reveal our Top 5 whiskies of 2009, as well as others that just missed out but are deserving of a mention. It will be posted tomorrow.

New Releases ... Kilkerran 'Work in Progress'

Kilkerran is a single malt whisky that is made at the Glengyle distillery. Glengyle is located in the town of Campbeltown, on the west Highland coast of Scotland. The distillery was originally founded in 1872 by William Mitchell, who was a co-owner with his brother John at the nearby Springbank distillery. He decided to set up on his own but Glengyle history was relatively short and it closed down due to financial difficulties in 1925. It was not to reopen until 2000, when Hedley Smith, the chairman of J&A Mitchell and Co. Ltd - the owners of Springbank, founded the Mitchell's Glengyle Ltd. with the aim of completely refurbishing the derelict buildings and restarting whisky production. The first spirit was distilled in April 2004.

This Kilkerran 'Work in Progress' is the first official single malt whisky released by Glengyle. The decision was taken not to name the whisky as Glengyle for two reasons - the first was so as to avoid confusion with a brand of vatted Highland malts that already used the name and the second was that the owners wanted a name to reflect something in the local history. They settled on Kilkerran which is derived from the Gaelic 'Caenn Loch Cille Chiarain' (which translates as 'head of the loch of Saint Kerran'). This was a site that Saint Kerran had travelled to in the Middle Ages and set up a religious group, which is now where the town of Campbeltown is built.

The 'Work in Progress' is five years of age and is limited to 12,000 bottles. The colour of this whisky is light and straw-like, with a nose that is highly aromatic and full of youthful vibrancy. There is an interesting mixture of sweet cereal grains, fresh green fruit (think of pears and apples), something powerful and herbal (imagine dried grasses) and just a whiff of some peppery peat smoke. This is a very promising start and on the palate it does not disappoint. It feels creamy in the mouth and the cereal, green fruit and grassy elements from the nose are joined by a sugary sweetness (imagine icing sugar), vanilla and some zesty citrus (think of lemon and orange especially). The finish is long with a hint of earthy smokiness and some woody oak coming through, before it turns slightly harsh and spirity right at the end.

Kilkerran is a very pleasant and highly characteristic whisky. Considering its age, it offers a very interesting alternative to more regular brands and at a decent price (£30-35 at specialist whisky retailers only). It is robust, youthful and vibrant which may not be to everyone's taste, but is showing great potential. It will be interesting to see how this whisky matures over the coming years and they plan to release increased ages of Kilkerran as and when the stocks age increases. This is an excellent foundation upon which to build and is definitely a name to watch out for in the future.