Kilkerran 13yo Cadenhead’s
Bourbon & Ruby Port Casks | 46% ABV
Score: 7/10
Very Good Indeed.
TL;DR
A good fun, funky steampunk berry jam of a whisky
Keeping it fun
Like many of us in the Dramface space - and the broader digital whisky community - I tend to geek out on whisky. Which, combined with an analytical mindset, drilled by years of higher education and professional conditioning, makes it extremely easy for me to get overly cerebral when approaching whisky.
From time to time this also has the undesired side effect of putting the pure enjoyment of the liquid in the glass - free from intellectual expectations or prejudices - in a corner. Thinking about the history of the distillery, the technical production details and the latest marketing and sales trends, creates layers of thoughts. These can end up creating a cloud of thoughts that, to put it mildly but honestly, risk turning into pretentious mental wankery.
But I can only speak for myself. If you aren’t affected by the same overthinker condition, I am equally happy to hear that - and I’m envious.
Envious because my overthinking has, in recent times, gotten in the way of my whisky enjoyment. Taking away from what has been, until recently, a steady oasis of mindful tranquillity in the chaotic outside world. What changed? Nothing dramatic. Nor is it a case of whisky fatigue. More than anything, it came down to “real” life requiring more focus: a more intense time at work, someone in my family requiring some extra support, minor health concerns… It all shifted the focus away from whisky. As it should be.
But it shouldn’t have taken away from my passion for whisky. Instead, a Dramface article I have been working on - although not the one you are reading today - discussing something I am passionate about and that should have metaphorically flown off the pen, is still a draft - eight weeks in.
Every time I tackle the intro, it turns into a rambling snoozfest: academic, verbose and devoid of the excitement I would love to transmit. I am not saying this to write the most convoluted excuse note for being late with an article promised long ago (well, maybe a little), but mainly because I have been here before. At the turning point where a passion starts to dwindle. And the result, last time, was losing touch with whisky for just under a decade. I was not going to make that mistake again.
In the past, I tried to counteract the slip in passion by immersing myself even deeper in the geeky side of whisky. Learn more, study more… Inevitably, it felt like homework during your summer holidays. Not a surprising outcome, but I can be a stubborn idiot at times. So I decided to do the exact opposite. Forget the analytical and geeky side of whisky. This whisky geek just wants to have fun.
And, after having fun, it might even turn into a new Dramface review.
Review
Kilkerran 13yo, Cadenhead’s Original Collection, 2011 vintage, ex-bourbon & ruby port casks, 2025 release, 46% ABV
£65 at launch, likely all sold out, secondary only
Picking something to fit that whisky-geek-just-wants-to-have-fun need was easy. Sourcing the bottle was more of a challenge. But for once, living in a market which went from a strategic one to a minor one for most single malt producers was an advantage.
I got my hands on a sample of this Cadenhead’s Kilkerran as part of a tasting pack including six of Scotland’s oldest standing Independent Bottlers’ February 2025 releases. The two samples that stood out were today’s bottle and a 14 year old Ledaig. The Ledaig is a beautiful, fully bourbon-aged example of Tobermory’s peaty output. Delicious, but not fitting the bill - definitely a more meditative drinking experience. This Port-finished Kilkerran was a different story; even at first sip the small 20ml sample tasted like fun.
Getting my hands on a bottle was somewhat more challenging. It was already sold out in Cadenhead’s Campbeltown shop when I visited Campbeltown in early March. It started appearing on European auction sites, but my spending limit fell short of the (inflated) winning bids. There is only so much I will overpay, even for something I like. And since no bottle had made it to Italy, I started looking for an alternative “fun” bottle to dive into.
Luckily, in a way, nothing caught my attention in the same way. But I should have had more patience. I had forgotten how long our convoluted, bureaucratic import-export practices can take. A mere five months after Cadenhead’s had released these, a few lonely bottles made it to these shores. I am sure that seems short to our American and Antipodean readers, but by European standards, with releases usually popping up across the channel after two months at most, that was positively long.
Even better for me, Kilkerran doesn’t seem to have caught fire here in Italy, so while Springbank bottlings disappear in minutes, Glengyle’s output is usually there if you look hard enough.
Like many Campbeltown-related releases, the local price comes with a significant Wee Toon Tax; noticeable, but also noticeably less than the auction-winning bid I lost to. In any case, price wasn’t really the issue here. The price was fully worth it as an investment to rekindle my joy in whisky.
Score: 7/10
Very Good Indeed.
TL;DR
A good fun, funky steampunk berry jam of a whisky
Nose
Some whiskies manage to create a picture as soon as you take the first smell. This is one of those. It conjures a slightly surreal image of someone making red berry jam in an old-fashioned smoking parlour, with an open window letting in just a little sea breeze. Sounds like a fevered AI dream, but that’s what my brain is imagining.
The core of the spirit is all Kilkerran: richly malty and funky, with notes of linseed oil and machine workshop grease, punctuated by puffs of peat and sea breeze. It slowly gains layers of pipe tobacco and old leather, the metaphorical scene-setting for my mental smoking parlour. The red fruit from the port is jammy, with notes of strawberry, raspberry, and redcurrant, complemented by just a hint of cinnamon and white pepper spice. In the background, there is a rich undercurrent of natural vanilla syrup and candied lemon peel.
Palate
The taste reveals a unique character: funkier and peatier than the Glengyle core range 12 or 16, but not as smoky as the “heavily peated” line. Considering this is a vatting, as with all of Cadenhead’s Original Collection, I wouldn’t be surprised if it were a blend of some standard and some heavily peated spirit.
The mouthfeel is rich and oily, almost chewy. A lot more peat on the taste than on the nose, which, together with the Port notes, immediately takes me to a juicy plate of BBQ pulled pork slathered in sauce, pomegranate syrup, blackberries, and wood smoke. Then, rich grain-driven notes: malt, sourdough bread, barley chaff. Just a touch of maritime minerality, wet pebbles on the beach. There is a bit of spice; maybe ginger and pepper, or even a touch of cayenne pepper, and a slight citrus freshness.
The finish is long with notes of strawberry taffy candy, tobacco, black fruits, and some saltiness. It leaves a beautiful, warming sensation on the palate which continues long after the last sip has disappeared.
The Dregs
Considering I approached this Cadenhead’s Kilkerran to get back the fun in whisky, I could close this piece just by saying that it worked - it was fun, and I am back, as passionate as before. But that wouldn’t make for a great Dramface review, would it?
Now that the passion is back, that more analytical approach to tasting single malt is becoming enjoyable again.
I thoroughly enjoyed this Cadenhead’s take on Kilkerran, but I have to admit it is a bit of a wacky dram. The core spirit is funky, peaty and maritime with some touches of age in the leather and tobacco notes. More robust than your standard Glengyle 46% output, but still recognisable as such. The cask influence, on the other hand, is anything but modest. It is thick and in your face but - at least to my taste - not overbearing. I am sure to some, especially those who prefer a refill cask, this will detract from Kilkerran’s pure character.
And a part of me agrees. The standard Kilkerran 16yo is my favourite release from the distillery, mainly due to its elegant balance between spirit character and underplayed cask influence on releases so far. It has been one of those whiskies where there is no need for strong flavours, peat or casks, as it may be, to achieve greatness. This Cadenhead’s release is almost the exact opposite. But boy, is it fun to sip, without expectation or prejudice.
If the score matters to you, know that I considered giving this an 8, for the very personal impact it has had on me, if nothing else. Yet, I have to admit that scoring it as a Glengyle product, it is a bit over the top and brash. Very good, but not reaching that ‘something special’ 8/10 status. Still, a bloody great dram anyways.
As with all things Springbank-related, the price you pay might influence your relative enjoyment. At Cadenhead’s RSP of £65, this was an absolute steal. At close to €100, once export costs and Wee Toon Tax are factored in, this is at the limit of what I would consider a regular bottle and starts falling into the special occasion dram category.
Nonetheless, I would happily pay that price again - and if I find it at that price again, I’ll seriously consider grabbing a second bottle. After all, it’s all about the fun.
Score: 7/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. HC
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