St Kilian Classic “Mild & Fruity” 46%

• Nose – A happy sunshine aroma – first whiff and yum! It had lovely warm white peaches, apricots, ripe pears, yellow plums, raspberry cream, baked banana bread, red licorice
• Palate – Delicious! More like a fruit spirit than whisky! Yet richer… had some lovely baked pear tart, caramel drizzled banana cream pie, marzipan, toffee, vanilla cream with just a hint of something deeper with the oak spice interplay
• Finish – A fabulously fruity and desert-like finish, chased by honey sweetness

In short – yum! It was a veritable fruit basket! The aroma at one point reminded me of a Raspberry soda – the kind that you specifically get at a Parsi wedding! This is MY kind of St Kilian – fruity, fun, and fabulous! (PS I revisited this one in another tasting set a few weeks later – enjoyed it even more!!)

–++–++–++–++– St Kilian Signature Edition ‘Twelve’ (2017/18) 50.8% –++–++–++–++–

We then moved on to the latest Signature Editions released in December 2022 – in this case the unpeated “Twelve” with 12,550 bottles released

I was primed to like it! I must admit I’ve come to enjoy their Signature Edition ‘One’ and have followed their other unpeated expressions avidly – such as the ‘Six’ , ‘Seven’ and  ‘Nine’.

So when I read the description of the Twelve, had super high expectations!

The mild Signature Edition TWELVE is a four-year-old single malt that matured for the most part in ex Moscatel de Setúbal dessert wine barrels (225 liters) and was married to whiskey from former Jamaica rum and fresh American oak barrels (190 liters each). The result is a creamy, sweet fruit composition that is perfectly complemented by tropical aromas and mild, warming oak notes.

What did we find?

St Kilian Signature Edition “Twelve” (2017/18 – 2022) 50,8%

• Nose – Honey, banana mash, apple sauce, yet behind the fruit there was also some acetone, brown band-aid, which then shifted back to fruit….
• Palate – Red currents, slightly sharp, then some raspberry, tropical fruits like passion fruit or even a bit of mango…
• Finish – White pepper, cinnamon candy
• Water – It definitely works with water too! We found a few new fruits joining the chorus – star fruit and jackfruit – interesting…

My tasting companions described this whisky as having a kind of “sticky” sweetness. For me, it reminded me a bit of that sweet coating you get on certain pills to make them more palatable. Which may sound a bit odd, but it worked.

For us, it wasn’t so clear the influence of the rum cask, however, it stands to reason that much of the fruity sweetness could be attributed to the Setúbal dessert wine.

Our conclusion was – this is quite a distinctive dram and well worth trying!

–++–++-St Kilian Hand filled – Paelzer Eich ex Moscatel (2017 – 2022) 60.2%  -++–++–

Next up was a “hand-filled” expression – typically available only at the distillery. In this case, it featured what is known as “Palatine Oak” with an ex-Moscatel wine finish.

St Kilian Hand filled – Paelzer Eich ex Moscatel (2017 – 2022) 60.2%

• Colour – For the most part, I’ve not commented on the whisky colour, however this was such a dark amber it was almost a purplish pink “Dunkel lila”. This was the 1st indication we were not having a “regular” whisky
• Nose – Sweet overripe mixed fruits, a bit like what you used to get in tins where all the fruit flavours sort of blended, some chestnut wood then burnt cereal, rum like then fruity then a hint of vanilla
• Palate – Very sweet and powerful – almost too much! There was something different at the back, which none of us could quite describe
• Finish – A bit “frisky” at cask strength, with a bit of a kick in there
• Water – With water we found rum aromas, dried candied fruit, red berries – made it slightly less intense

It was fruity (though we couldn’t tell any specific fruit!), sweet, and a bit too intense. Whether it was the virgin Palatine Oak that made it so “lively” or the influence of the Moscatel made it almost too sweet, this expression was no ordinary dram.

–++–++–++–++– St Kilian Grave Digger – Fields of Blood 47%  –++–++–++–++–

Last but not least was an expression from their Heavy Metal “Grave Digger” series. This was a 1st for me – and I must say – I am impressed! This expression premiered side-by-side with the Signature ‘Twelve’ and ‘Thirteen.’

The folks at St Kilian shared that the peated single malt whiskey has 54ppm with  5,450 bottles.  What did we think?

• Nose – We were greeted by sweet maple smoked ham – a delicious start that had us smiling at the 1st whiff! It was joined by sugary smoked almonds, loads of different nuts from Brazilian to chestnut, there was baked caramelized pineapple rings, creamy vanilla custard
• Palate – Much milder than we anticipated, it was a lovely restrained peat, fruity, sweet and exceedingly tasty!
• Finish – A delightful cinnamon spice
• Water – Please don’t! This whisky is simply perfect “as is”! Nary a drop of water is needed!

BRAVO!!! This was a well-balanced, well-rounded whisky. It was by far the favourite of the night! It had all the hallmarks of a “comfort” dram – the kind of whisky that makes you want to curl up with a good book, great music, a cozy comforter, and maybe a lazy cat or two! It was also a very good reminder – NEVER underestimate the appeal of a good peaty dram – which this very much is!

–++–++–++–++- –++–++–++–++–

As for the balance? I brought the Rich & Smoky 46% and Berry Metal 40% to Canada to taste together with the St Kilian Signature Edition ‘Thirteen‘ 53.9%.