UD 2005 KIW Review

Country: Scotland 

Region: Highland

Brand: UD 2005 Third Confidential Cask (KIW - Kintra Whisky)

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: 7 Years

ABV: 51.6 %

Date: 06/06/2013

Colour: Dark Golden

Nose: This is a relatively young whisky and it's bottled at Cask Strength so the Alcohol is very present all along the way. On the Nose I find Malt, lightly Buttered Grain Biscuits, Toffee, Burnt Sugar, Honey, Sherry, Citrus, light Fruit (Pear, Apricot), light Wood Spices and some Green Wood. It's not bad but it would have benefited greatly from additional years in the cask.

Palate: Sweet yet slightly Bitter as well with Toffee/Caramel, light Licorice, Pepper and Green Oak.

Finish: Short. Initially Sweet with Caramel and Burnt Sugar but Dry towards the end with Wood, Pepper and a hint of Espresso.

I added a bit of Water and the Alcohol is of course subdued. Malt, Honey, Toffee and Fruit reveal themselves more clearly. Palate and Finish don't change a lot but in this case I advise you to add a bit of Water as the Alcohol notes are really strong otherwise.

Rating: 78

Nose: 20 - Taste: 19.5 - Finish: 19 - Overall: 19.5 

General Remarks: This Undisclosed Highland Single Malt was distilled in September 2005 and bottled at Cask Strength by Independent Bottler Kintra Whisky (Deventer, the Netherlands) in October 2012. It matured in an Ex-Sherry Butt with Cask # 900161 out of which 143 bottles were reserved by Kintra. The whisky is non-chillfiltered and naturally coloured. It costs around 70 US Dollars but I'm not sure if it's still available.

Drinking Experience Neat: Okay/Good

Conclusion: I have read somewhere that this Whisky could have been distilled at Glenmorangie or Balblair. I'm not familiar with the latter but I can't find the distinct Glenmorangie Oranges. If this whisky would have been served in a Blind Tasting event I would not have been able to identify it. The Honey and Fruit would have given it away as a Highlander but that's about it. I'm not (yet) impressed by the UD 2005. The Nose is promising but needs more Wood time. Palate and Finish are pretty generic and not at all complex. The Alcohol is way too dominant. I would love to taste this again as a 15 year old though. So back to the cask with you young man!

Jan van den Ende                                                                        June 2013