Kilkerran Campbeltown

Enigma 16 years old – vintage 2008, bottled at 53,6 % abv by Cadenhead’s

First things first: It is not always clear what the components of the blended malt are in the by now prestigious Enigma series by Cadenhead’s, but from this one we know it is 4 bourbon hogsheads, of which two came from Highland Park, one from Kilkerran and one from Hazelburn. This resulted in an outturn of 1230 bottles at 16 years of age. The bottling is a special release for the Campbeltown Malts Festival 2025. 

Upon Sipping: The idea alone of mixing pure Highland Park with two rare Campbeltown products is thrilling, I hope the result can meet my anticipation. The nose delivers, in any case! A beautiful mix of floral, heathery and fruity notes. Some limestone, some minerals, some waxy hints. It is a fascinating interaction between the three different spirits. The typical Highland Park smoke is not easy to find, or it surfaces on that heathery wave. Feels like a classic old malt, whatever way you look at it. The taste is incredible, with lots of tropical fruits and honeyed waxy notes. On the finish is where the HP smoke kicks in. Lovely waxes all over. 

Word to the Wise: This is a marvellous product, that could have been married together a little better because the single components all show themself separately. The HP is not difficult to detect, and the Hazelburn brings the fruit. The minerality of the Kilkerran functions as the glue keeping this blended malt together. 

Score: 88 points.

Kilkerran 20 years old, bottled at 48,2 % abv 

First things first: Another special release for the Campbeltown Malts Festival 2025, this one in honour of the Kilkerran Open Day. This 20 years old expression was bottled on 1 May 2025 and matured in a fresh bourbon cask. 

Upon Sipping: Long matured Kilkerran that is made at the Glengyle Distillery is very rare. Stock is low and that probably will not change in the nearest future. So let’s savour this one! The nose opens rather modest actually, but fresh enough with whiffs of minerals, limestone, tangerines and creamy vanilla. Lovely, but still with a dark edge. Kilkerran has a rough side that might well harken back to Victorian times, when whisky production was gritty, sooty and industrial. But having said that, the taste shows karma by proving me wrong. Elegant squirts of fruit litter the tongue, with an overdose of oranges and tangerines indeed. You get your vitamin C shot of the day when you sip of this stuff. Ah, Kilkerran is so deserving of more production time, because it holds its own singular place in Campbeltown lore. At younger age it comes to close to Springbank, but when it gets enough time in the cask, the comparison with fruity Hazelburn is not far-fetched. With water it becomes a bit thin, so now you know you can easily skip adding any. 

Word to the Wise: Juice potion for the thirsty masses. Incredibly impressive. Let us mourn the fact that the owners can probably not do a (one-off) release of a 21 year old Kilkerran. Fingers crossed karma will kick in again and makes me eat my words. I would gladly be wrong. 

Score: 91 points.

Kilkerran Heavily Peated – batch 12, bottled at 58,4 % abv

First things first: Batch 12 of the beloved Heavily Peated production made at Glengyle Distillery. This famously comes in a tall bottle, because there were problems at the bottling plant with providing the by now traditional bottle for Kilkerran, that is actually very similar to the dumpy style at the Springbank Distillery. This will ruin your batches collection, won’t it? Anyway, the liquid inside was mostly matured in bourbon casks, but a small portion of sherry was put in the mix. 

Upon Sipping: So, can Kilkerran capture all three makes at Springbank all by its own? How does this stand up against Longrow? The nose opens surprisingly creamy, like smoked butter on slightly burned toast. The peat seems to have taken on a more caramel-like character. The tangerines I found in the 20 years old (tasted above) make a reprise here. Yes, on the tongue too, I get a lot of sweetened notes, mostly oranges and tangerines. The heavily peated character mostly comes out to play on the finish, that is raw and has a nice milky chocolate edge to it. It feels quite different compared to other Heavily Peated batches I tasted (and I have tasted most of them). Much fruitier. Maybe it is because of the buildup of this session? Anyway, when I put in some water, we finally get more smoke, appearing in the form of lemon drizzle on a cheesecake. The taste gets fruitier and fruitier, making me wonder if this batch is older than previous iterations. With or without some water, this is perfectly smooth to drink. You might prefer the undiluted impact of the finish. 

Word to the Wise: Totally blown away by the balance and perfect integration of the peated element of this Kilkerran. One might wonder if this batch was less peated than previous expressions, or there is a more mature product in the bottle. Either way, as a consumer, you win!

Score: 90 points.