Long weeks and long maturations (Ben Nevis and Kilkerran)

This week has been a long and tiring week, with deadlines, chasing people for deadlines, and then worrying about the quality of work that was rushed out due to impending deadlines. Oh gosh. A long week deserves a long drink, and preferably one with a long(ish) maturation period. I guess the usual industry standard for "old" whisky is something above 18 years? Or thereabouts?

Serendipitously, Auld Alliance made a big announcement on FB about their updated menu! New items added, more tasting sets, and more independent bottlings by The Auld Alliance. The stars of the unveiling were a 32 year Port Ellen, a 27 year old Irish whisky of undisclosed origins, and a 19 year old Ben Nevis.

So, off I went on my own to Auld Alliance for some happy alone time!

Ben Nevis 19 year old, bottled for the Auld Alliance and Three Rivers (50.2% abv)

Oh look! An owl!

 I believe Three Rivers is a friend of the Auld Alliance bar in Japan. They do these split cask arrangements with Auld Alliance once in a while, I believe. This bottle was matured in a sherry butt for 19 years, though it said 20 on the menu.

Colour - Close to amber, and this bottle says that the whisky has not had colouring added. Nice colour!

Nose - Sherried, definitely. Blackcurrants, liquorice, oak. Slightly sour, like strawberry-sour. The sour strawberries you often get from Singapore supermarkets. Smells oily and fat. After a while, freshly plucked mint leaves, coriander and parsley. Vanilla floats up after a while.

Palate - Slightly salty on entry, and fairly obvious oak. Light sprinkling of spice - cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper, the usual suspects. Slightly rubbery, with tea tannins giving it a drying feel. Some light peat, punctuated with bursts of fresh fruit - berries and one lemon. Incidentally, I read that lemons are not naturally occurring fruits, but the result of humans cross-breeding several fruits. Boom. Mind blown. When life does not give you lemons, go engineer them yourself. Burnt sugar, and with time in the glass, a lot of honey comes to the fore. Nice development!

Finish - A slight suggestion of machine oil. Spices remain, with some smoke. The whisky coats the mouth well, so there's some sweet sherry leftover around the mouth. Tea, a little bitter, and, at the end, crayons.

Overall - I like this style! Not typically highlands a la Highland Park or Oban, but good still. I like the fatty/oily feel and the complexity of development. Reminded me a bit of Springbank. But since I've already tried the affordable Springbanks on the menu...

Kilkerran WIP First Release (46% abv)

Really excited about this. I hope I get to buy a bottle of the Kilkerran 12. Preferably not from an overpriced bar/retailer...

Colour - White wine. This is pale, and rather young (about 4 to 5 years in bourbon cask)

Nose - Big on machine oil and a very strong metallic touch. Yet at the same time, still smelling fat and reminds me a bit of freshly de-shelled crustaceans. Slight peat and smoke, some tobacco, and juicy grapefruit/pomelo. Since it's the Mid-Autumn festival, pomelo it shall be.

Palate - Oh, rather different from the nose! Surprise! Coconut and oak, light honey, and some vanilla. Transits to minerals like wet rocks, silica-rich sand. Texture is smooth and creamy. Alcohol is quite unnoticeable, which is impressive for something so young. The mineral quality of the spirit really shines in this young make, and I expect age and wood would work wonders on it.

Finish - spicy and smokey. I'm getting some ginger-linger (such similar spelling but different pronunciation!) Drying, with suggestions of smoked, salted fish. Minerals again with a little bit of sea spray. Fairly short finish, but this is a good demonstration of distillery distinctives.

Overall - I'm impressed with the Kilkerran, and I think anyone who likes Springbank will like this too. This was just the first WIP too! Wish I had easy access to all the other Kilkerrans, and Springbank. But alas, there is one bar that is the sole distributor of Springbank in Singapore (and thus also having sole distributor rights to Springbank's other distilleries Hazelburn, Longrow, Kilkerran, and Cadenhead), and we all know what happens in a monopoly. Springbank 18 for $280 is steep. Springbank 13 Green for $300 is downright prohibitive.

One can hope, eh?