Mitchell Family – DramWorlds

September 17, 2021September 17, 2021

Longrow (Springbank) Red Pinot Noir, 11yo (2019)

*Rating*	24.4/40
*Origin*	Scotland, Campbeltown,
*Distillery*	Longrow (Springbank)
*Owner*	J&A Mitchell & Company
*Series*	Red
*Edition*	Pinot Noir
*Style*	Single Malt
*Peated*	Yes
*Cask*	Pinot Noir
*Bottled*	January 7th, 2019
*Bottles*	9,000
*Strength*	53.1% (106.2 Proof)

Another one in the long running series of red wine aged small batch releases of Springbank’s peated single malt, the Longrow. Always unique, often tasty and always highly anticipated, at least by yours truly, I’m glad to try another one of these peated pearls.

Nose: The nose is definitely “red”, whatever that descriptor means. Knowing there is wine involved makes those notes apparent but I’m curious if I would have detected them in a blind tasting. If I try to dismiss any preconceived notions from my mind, I end up with Haribo fruit gummy candies hanging out in a cigar lounge. Except nobody is actually smoking because they’re all busy eating cherry pies at the moment. There’s stuff I like and stuff I don’t like. This one’s a bit hard to nail down points-wise. (6.8/10)

Palate: Thick, goopy cherry-pie effluent and splinters of dark wood. And I wish all of it would come to life more. Not sure why this stuff is refusing to blow up. There’s a sizzling heat emerging after each sip that seems to burn off all of those rather nice flavors too quickly until the last of them evaporates the moment it goes down. It’s kind of a shame really. This palate is its own worst enemy. This is what it must feel like to have a child of great promise which proceeds to turn into a petty thief. (6.1/10)

Finish: A lonesome ghost of slightly bitter flavor and some residual warmth in the upper chest is all that’s left after everything else quickly evaporates. That and a mild sugary coating on the back of the tongue. Definitely a bit of a let down this one. I really expected more. (5.6/10)

Balance: I dunno… I usually really like the Longrow Red releases but this one is subpar on all fronts. Somehow, despite its relative strength, it seems to lack the substance to assert and maintain the nice flavors it hints at. You open a cage at the zoo but instead of a roaring lion you get a disinterested shabby looking racoon. A bit of a bummer. But luckily also a bit of an exception in the series. At least I hope it’s not a harbinger of future doom. (5.9/10)

May 28, 2021May 28, 2021

Springbank K&L Excl. Sovereign, 22yo, 1995/2018

*Rating*	37.5/40
*Origin*	Scotland, Campbeltown
*Distillery*	Springbank
*Owner*	Mitchell Family
*Distilled*	December 1995
*Bottler*	Hunter Laing & Company
*Series*	The Sovereign
*Style*	Single Barrel Single Malt Whisky
*Cask*	Refill Hogshead HL15295
*Bottled*	May 2018
*Bottles*	108
*Strength*	52.5% (105 Proof)
Retailer	K&L Wine Merchants

I have not acquired this one for myself but thanks to a generous friend (thanks IFLS!) I’ve been lucky enough to get to try this amazing whisky. There was a reason I had not purchased it myself. It’s just not what I usually go for. And, while being right about that evaluation, I was also utterly wrong about not getting any of it. File this one under R for regret. What a stunning expression of Springbank!

Nose: Linen sheets, still warm, fresh out of the dryer after having been washed with meadow flower scented detergent. The pages of old, heavily used books that haven’t pulled out of a tightly packed shelf in a long time. Lemon zest arches far above a slow river of mild honey. My only complaint is that I desperately want to turn up the volume. (8.5/10)

Palate: Can you extract liquid from the pages of an old book? It’s very dry, almost dusty, but underneath all of it there is that quiet slow river of honey again, which at the end, subsumes all the other stuff, except the bright flurry of dust above it all, sparkling in the light of a reading lamp. This is not at all in my general ballpark. But, holy crap, it is amazing! A whisky to stay with, pay attention to, sink into like when one is getting lost in the stories found inside an old, well-read book. (9.5/10)

Finish: At first, after coming back up from the mysterious depths of this book, there is just this coating of honey, left behind by that river. My tongue is rough from all the dry, ancient paper. There is gentle yet deep and rich, dusty smoke permeating my throat and chest. And then, for a time, the lemon zest shows up again, albeit in a rehydrated form of blended lemon zest and juice. Just wonderful. After a long time a single fruit emerges under the roof of my palate and it is… a plum! (10/10)

Balance: This is… so unexpected. None of this is what I typically look for. It is not loud but it is powerful. Best enjoyed alone. Let this envelope you and permeate you undisturbed and in silence. I suspect one might miss most or all it has to offer if surrounded by a crowd. Wow. (9.5 /10)

March 5, 2021May 21, 2021

Glengyle Kilkerran Cask Strength, 8yo 2017

*Rating*	28.3/40
*Origin*	Scotland, Campbeltown
*Distillery*	Glengyle
*Owner*	Mitchell Family
*Series*	Kilkerran
*Edition*	Cask Strength
*Style*	Single Malt
*Peated*	Yes
*Cask*	Ex-Bourbon
*Bottled*	2017
Bottles	6,000
*Strength*	55.7% (111.4 Proof)
Whiskybase	Whiskybase
*Wine Searcher*	Wine Searcher

This one-off small batch release of a younger and more aggressive expression adds another facet to Glengyle’s Kilkerran line of peated single malts, which already includes a number of “Work In Progress” as well as some heavily peated batch releases. Though the most commonly available bottling is probably the basic bottle strength 12 year old.

Nose: A soft perfume-y smoke, more bubble bath than peat really. It jumps out and up at you but then, ultimately, it doesn’t amount to much more than a thin bubble pushing some perceptible notes with not a whole lot of substance behind it. Not unpleasant, but also not really a whole lot of… anything. (6.1/10)

Palate: Aha! Stuff! Finally! Pretty aggressive and bouncy in its youthfulness. A sharp hit of smoke, a bunch of loose staves of unripe wood clatter about noisily, but all of that dies down quickly and what’s left can’t quite make itself be heard after the ruckus of the initial impact. Later sips are very candy… probably why the kids were bouncing off the walls like that. (6.5/10)

Finish: The kids have tired out and settled down. Finally it’s a quiet and peaceful around here. Mouth and throat are left feeling empty from the sudden silence. There’s a few wooden toys left scattered about the floor that need tidying up. But someone’s got the fireplace going on the other side of the living room and there’s a welcoming heat beckoning us to come on over from deep inside in the chest, just above the diaphragm. This is nice. (8.5/10)

Balance: The finish makes me want to forgive the whisky for the underdeveloped nose and the irritating palate, but this is a review and I’ve got to be honest. Still that finish is nice to settle into. Don’t bother sniffing. Just sip, swish and swallow, then sit back and let out a deep breath. (7.2/10)

February 7, 2020May 21, 2021

Glengyle Kilkerran Heavily Peated Batch #1, 2019

*Rating*	27.0/40
*Origin*	Scotland, Campbeltown
*Distillery*	Glengyle
*Owner*	Mitchell Family
*Series*	Peat In Progress
*Edition*	Heavily Peated Batch #1
*Style*	Single Malt
*Peated*	Yes (45 ppm)
*Cask*	55% Ex-Bourbon, 45% Ex-Sherry
*Bottled*	February 20th, 2019
*Strength*	59.3% (118.6 Proof)
*Whiskybase*	Whiskybase

The first batch of a heavily peated, youthful expression under the Kilkerran label of Springbank’s young sister distillery, Glengyle, both owned by the Mitchell family. The stills used at Glengyle were acquired from the old Ben Wyvis distillery, which only survived for 12 years and closed in 1977.

Nose: Well… it’s peated, yes, but I’m not sure about it being peated heavily. There is a mild savory undercurrent of medium hot curry with potatoes and lentils. Later we’re looking at it through a large frame of unaged wooden. The peat is greener and more grassy than I would prefer. (6.5/10)

Palate: Aha! Here this whisky easily appears twice as peaty as the nose, for sure. But, again, there is his unripe green and grassy note throughout. And that unaged wood also arrives just a little later. (6.5/10)

Finish: Smoke and warmth mingle pleasantly. But once again those pesky green notes stick their head out here and there. Still, at least for me, this is the most rewarding aspect of this whisky. (7.5/10)

Balance: The whole thing feels very young to me (which, normally, is not at all a bad thing when it comes to peated whiskies) and I suspect it’s almost certainly younger than the 8 year old cask strength Kilkerran I’ve reviewed elsewhere on this site. I’m just not a huge fan though it’s certainly drinkable in a pinch. As much as I’m trying, I just can’t get past those green notes. (6.5/10)

January 10, 2020May 21, 2021

Glengyle Kilkerran, 12yo.

*Rating*	28/40
*Origin*	Scotland, Campbeltown
*Distillery*	Glengyle
Owner	Mitchell Family
*Style*	Single Malt
*Peated*	Yes
*Strength*	46% (92 Proof)
Whiskybase	Whiskybase
*Wine Searcher*	Wine-Searcher

The 12 year old Kilkerran is the baseline single male release of the youngest Campbeltown distillery, Glengyle. The name Kilkerran was chosen to avoid confusion with an existing Highland blend bottled under the same name of Glengyle.

Nose: Wood sticking out of a roll of wet felt that’s been drying since someone spilled some lightly peated whisky on it a little while ago. Later some wine notes making a non-committal showing in the background. (6.5/10)

Palate: A bright flash of an initial hit infused with mildly sour plums spreading out from a high center splashing outwards towards the edges of my mouth. Almost seems to float a millimeter or two above the tongue refusing to make contact. Geometrically interesting but not a ton of flavor. (7.5/10)

Finish: The splash from the palate leaves a ring of residual flavor around the fringes of the mouth that is quite pleasant. But there’s not a lot happening in the back. There’s bits alive in slow waves on my breath but overall it sort of just peters out. (7/10)

Balance: The dynamics of the palate is the most interesting part but I wish there was just a little more of a constant deep finish to enjoy afterwards. The nose is… a bit meh. (7/10)