It's a Cooley blend, containing 22% unpeated malt whiskey which, like all Cooley malt, is double-distilled. The rest, of course, is Cooley's rather fine grain whiskey. The malt and grain components have been matured for at least four years in ex-bourbon barrels.
BerNiko very kindly sent me a bottle so I can report on the taste too. Now I'm not a big fan of Cooley blends, young or old, so I wasn't expecting too much here. I was very pleasantly surprised, however, by this beautifully balanced whiskey. I'm sure it works great with a mixer or in a cocktail but I'd happily drink it neat if I saw it in a bar. I promised to bring the bottle to a meeting of the Irish Whiskey Society but now I'm tempted to keep it for myself!
I hope this is just the first of a range of Kellan whiskeys. BerNiko tell me they are planning an aged blend (most likely 8yo) and they don't rule out a single malt or limited editions in the future.
For now Kellan is only available in the US, for between $22 and $25 (for 750ml).
Kellan has one other interesting selling point: it is certified kosher. There is a KLBD mark on the back label that indicates this. I'm no expert on Jewish dietary requirements but some quick reading on the topic leads me to believe that most of Cooley's output would be kosher anyway. Kellan just makes that official.
I'll mention one other thing that struck me immediately on seeing the bottle for the first time. A young whiskey matured in ex-bourbon barrels should be fairly light in colour. Kellan is a very deep amber. Clearly this is artificially achieved with a heavy dose of caramel colouring. It shouldn't affect the taste but in a decent whiskey like this why not let the appearance reflect the truth of its manufacture?
5 comments:
I just opened my first bottle of Kellan whiskey. I've had Scotch (not my favorite) but as an American, I've always liked our Bourbon such as Jack Daniels, and really like Maker's Mark. Well, I had a couple of good-sized glasses of Kellan on the rocks, and was surprised at how easily it went down. A thoroughly pleasant taste. Perhaps not as interesting as I'd expected, being Irish and all, and how the image of rugged Irishmen is portrayed in our movies. My first Irish whiskey - here's to many more!
With a front of aldehydes and burnt rubber, not a good buy. If you like Jameson you will not like Kellan. Ghastly stuff.
Don't know what Mr. Shaw was drinkin' but I am sitting here with a Kellan on the rocks close at hand, having tried it for the 1st time, and I think it's quite good. Slightly prefer Jamesons, but Kellan has a nice honey-gold color and a bold yet not overpowering taste. If you like blended Irish whiskey, this worth a shot, no pun intended (or, what the heck, maybe it is intended!). Nothing against Mr. Shaw, of course, we all have our opinions, and it's wonderful that they're not all the same.
I had a sup tonight, to see if my opinion had changed. It still has that Cooley blend flavour that I'm not hugely fond of, but it's softened right down in the Kellan. I still think it's quite drinkable.
I just boiught and bottle and think it will become a favorite soon. Very pleasant and a best buy.
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