In February I reviewed four older whiskies: a Caperdonich 36, 1972, a Caol Ila 30, 1983, the 2012 release of the Glendronach 21 “Parliament”, and a Laphroaig 21, 1990. March’s first review, on the other hand, was of a 10 yo: the 2013 release of the Ardbeg 10. Accordingly, let’s make this a month of younger whiskies. Up next, is the first release of the Work in Progress series from Kilkerran. I’ve actually reviewed this one before—about three years ago. That review was from a sample from a friend; this is from my own bottle. It was released in 2009 and contained spirit distilled in 2004, making the contents four or five years old. The vattings for these early releases of the Work in Progress series were said to contain both ex-bourbon and ex-sherry spirit, but I’m not sure what the ratios were. I do know I’ve liked most of the Work in Progress releases a lot. I’ve previously also reviewed both the sherry and bourbon cask releases of the fifth release and the bourbon cask releases of the sixth and seventh releases. I have an unopened bottle of the third release on my shelf. I haven’t tried the second or fourth releases since starting the blog. Anyway, let’s get reacquainted with the first release and see what I make of it now.

Kilkerran Work in Progress 1, Take 2 (46%; from my own bottle)

Nose: Coal, wet stones, lemon, brine. As it sits, the coal turns to soot and some cereals emerge. The cereals expand with time. With water, the brine turns to salt and a lot of it and the lemon picks up some sweetness.

Palate: The wet stones are in the lead here and there’s some olive oil as well (mineral, sweet). Very good drinking strength; rich texture. A little more bitterness as it sits but it’s bracing, not an off note. Water pushes the bitter note back and pulls out more smoke and pepper.

Finish: Long. The wet stones and soot are the story here. The brine expands in the background. As on the palate with time and water.

Comments: Rather lovely whisky in that general Springbank family Campbeltown profile. I like it even more than I did at my previous review. Looking forward to drinking the bottle down over the next couple of months.

Rating: 88 points.