Kininvie 23yo batch 3

[opelfruit]

For those who don't know Kininvie is a pretty rare/hard to come by single malt. It's the younger sister to Glenfiddich and Balvenie and was opened in 1990 to take strain of it's siblings and most of it goes straight into the Grants blends or into Monkey Shoulder (vatted from all 3 sisters). It's basically just a still house, so all ther production etc goes on in Balvenie (milling, mashing, fermenting blah blah).


From what I understand (and certainly going off the colour) it's ex-bourbon matured with a small mix or some finishing in sherry wood. I don't know what type of sherry but it's either a light variety or it's probably 3rd fill if the impact on the whisky is anything to go by.

I'd also guess it's natural colour and not chill filtered.


Nose:

Very delicate, sweetness - light honey. Some vanilla and peaches/apricots. Some citrus zest and a prickle of spice from the oak; baking spices like cinammon and nutmeg. The smell you get when you walk into the house and cakes have been baking, but it's all very light.


Palate:

Great mouthfeel and near perfect weight. Sweetness straight away and very vibrant for a 23yo. A little tannic; citrus tea. Bakery time again, a little trickle of that thin vanilla honey and some oak coming through that stops the sweetness from running away - brings it all back to centre again. There is a bizarre earthen note too, almost a little rancio but not quite, really interesting and a good extra note in the mix - most likely coming from the sherry.


Finish:

Medium, shorter than I was expecting, which is a shame. From the oak prickle on the palate it returns back to sweet again with those lovely soft vanilla notes and light spices, maybe even some dried fruits (sultanas) from the sherry. Slowly fades to a lovely warming malty feel. A late note of citrus juice pops in as it ends.


Really good this. Loads going on, great complexity at every stage and I'm sure if you spend longer with it (or have a bigger sample!) there is much more to find in there. It's very clear that this was well made spirit that has been matured very sympathetically; no overpower from the casks. Whoever put this in wood knew the spirit, knew what they wanted it to come out like and picked some cracking (I would assume) refill cask to compliment and nurture the whisky through to maturity. It's great to see a whisky that is hand in hand with it's cask, not either one taking too much of a leading role. I imagine this batch could have been left even longer, maybe up to 30years as the oak was only really just starting to show itself.

........it's £120 a half bottle though, which I think is all a bit steep.
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"Too much of anything is bad, but too much good whisky is barely enough."