Batches : Kilkerran 8yo CS

Distilleries often release whisky in batches, the same name but subtly different recipes, ABVs, maturation typesptypes / etc. In this new, occasional series, I'm going to review a number of different Batches in my Side-by-side format to see if I can detect any differences, does each batch get better or are they to all intents and purposes the same?

This time I'll be reviewing batches #3 and #4 of the 8yo Cask Strength from @Kilkerran2004 distillery, what differences are there? In this case the are obvious maturation differences, so what similarities are there?

Kilkerran's Glengyle distillery is located in Campbeltown at the bottom of the Kintyre peninsula next door to it's sister distillery Springbank. Kilkerran or "Cille Chiarain" in Gaelic – is the original name of Campbeltown. They share maltings, warehousing and staff! Originally founded in 1872 then closed in 1923, it was reopened by Springbank in 2004. It's 2 stills give it a capacity 0.74 million litres of alcohol per year but it runs at well below that - only distilling for a few weeks each year.

I've visited a couple of times but unfortunately never when then have been distilling.

The 8yo Cask Strength is a semi-regular release which recently has alternated between ex-bourbon and re-charred Oloroso Sherry.

Dram	Batch #3 (Oct '18)	Batch #4 (Oct '19)
Characteristics (Shared)	8yo NAS Natural colour NCF
Characteristics (Different)	56.5% ABV Ex-bourbon	57.1% ABV Re-charred Oloroso Sherry 15,000 bottles
Distillery info	Nose: The peat aroma from the lightly peated barley is apparent from the off and some of the green apples which are becoming a feature of Kilkerran are also present. This whisky is like a favourite dessert, rhubarb crumble, stewed rhubarb, vanilla and all butter shortbread. Palate: There’s an earthiness and saltiness, exactly what you want to taste in a Campbeltown dram. This is combined with icing sugar and puff candy which gives a sweetness to the whisky, along with milk chocolate and walnut flavours. Finish: The peat remains, along with a sootiness, pencil shavings and a liquorice influenced maltiness.	Nose: Waves of smoky bacon and sticky glazed ham are followed by dried fruit characteristics that give way to soft peat smoke. Palate: Rich, fruity and spicy. Notes of ginger loaf, fresh ripe cherries and sultanas. Hints of cloves, dark chocolate and a refreshing menthol note. Finish: A lasting finish of nostalgic buttered brown toast, espresso and ashy peat smoke. A lasting, earthy character reminiscent of the distillery’s dunnage warehousing.
My thoughts:
Appearance	Samples reversed: Oloroso on the left, ex-bourbon on the right
	Mid gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line, bead up and fall as slow thick legs.	Dark bronze in the glass, swirls cling as a hairline crack, take a while to bead up and then fall as slow thick legs.
Nose	ABV bites at you immediately but there's loads of tropical fruit and citrus notes. Gentle peat smoke offers a hint of barbequed pineapple. A little air enhances the citrus notes - some lemon and lime - nice!	Musty dunnage warehouse notes, butterscotch and strawberry jam. A little air offers dried fruit, treacle and some balsamic vinegar notes.
Palate	Again the ABV bites, the tropical fruit and citrus notes from the nose are there along with some icing sugar. A lemon fizz is left on the tongue as the liquid disappears. A few more sips begin to reveal a Campbeltown salty note and sweet lemon bonbons - nice!	Dried fruit and strawberry jam with a big bite of ginger spice. There's hints of tropical fruit here too. Very drying in the mouth leaving a slightly sour smoky grapefruit note. A few more sips offer a little burnt toffee and salted chocolate note.
Finish	Lingering smoky citrus notes with a peppery spice and a little salt.	Peat smoke, dry sherry notes, a little ginger spice.
Overall	I applaud Kilkerran for putting an age statement on these, most distilleries wouldn't, but to be honest they both could be much older than the 8 years they state. Obviously two completely different drams due to the different maturations but both still have that Kilkerran DNA, shared by their younger Heavily Peated sibling - salt and tropical fruit - but the peat smoke is more gentle on these two. It's hard to pick a favourite - the ex-bourbon is giving you the 'pure' distillery character - the re-charred oloroso would suggest a more smoky dram but I don't think there's a lot in it. Worth grabbing a bottle (or a couple of cases if your name is Stew) when the next release comes out!

Many thanks to @chris_f74 for the Batch #3 sample and @stewedwhisky for the opportunity to buy a bottle of the Batch #4!

Geeky stuff:

There have been 5 8yo CS Batches:

Kilkerran 8yo CS Batches
Release	Bottled	ABV	Cask type
5	Feb '21	56.9%	Oloroso Sherry
4	Oct '19	57.1%	Re-charred Oloroso Sherry
3	Oct '18	56.5%	Ex-Bourbon
2	Oct '17	55.7%	Ex-Bourbon
1	Mar '17	56.2%	Ex-Bourbon

and 2 similar special releases:

Kilkerran 8yo Special Releases
Release	Bottled	ABV	Cask type
Open Day 2018	May '18	58.4%	Re-charred Oloroso Sherry
Open Day 2016	Apr '16	56.4%	Re-charred Oloroso Sherry