Kilkerran 12 Years Old (2024 bottling) is a Campbeltown single malt | approximately 70 % ex-bourbon, 30 % ex-sherry, 46% volume, non-chill-filtered, no added colour — the flagship expression of Glengyle Distillery, revived in 2004 under Mitchell & Co. of Springbank fame. Campbeltown's characteristic gently peated, saline, fruity profile is at its clearest and most assured here: 12 years has given the Kilkerran spirit time to integrate the bourbon and sherry wood contributions into a balanced, cohesive whole. MATURATION: approximately 70 % ex-bourbon casks, 30 % ex-oloroso sherry casks, matured 12 years at Glengyle Distillery, Campbeltown, bottled 2024 at 46% volume. Non-chill-filtered, no added colour. The bourbon-dominant vatting keeps the weight approachable while the sherry third adds raisin sweetness and spice depth — the balance is textbook Campbeltown. SERVING: neat in a Glencairn at room temperature — 46% volume is perfectly calibrated and needs nothing added. A few drops of water can be interesting to open the saline, coastal peat layer beneath the fruit. An excellent everyday Campbeltown single malt for those who find heavily peated Islay too assertive: the peat is restrained, elegant and saline rather than medicinal. Also works well alongside smoked mackerel or a simple plate of cured meats.
Tasting notes
Pale gold with warm golden highlights.
A restrained, coastal peat note opens the nose, followed by dried apricot, acacia honey and creamy vanilla.
Rich palate alternating oloroso sherry sweetness — raisins, candied orange peel, toasted hazelnut — with the clarity of bourbon cask: vanilla, golden caramel, roasted malt.
Long, saline and gently peated finish, with soft spice, milk chocolate and a lingering note of dried fruit.
Kilkerran is the single malt of Glengyle Distillery, in Campbeltown on the Kintyre peninsula. Founded in 1872 by William Mitchell, the distillery was silent from 1925 onwards — one of many casualties of Campbeltown's long decline. In 2000, Hedley Wright, head of J. & A. Mitchell (owner of Springbank), acquired the site, rebuilt it entirely, and restarted production in 2004. Because the Glengyle name was already in use for a blended whisky, the single malt was given the name 'Kilkerran' — the original Gaelic name for Campbeltown. Kilkerran is therefore the first 21st-century Campbeltown single malt, hand-produced in the region's signature lightly peated, coastal, saline style.
