Whisky : Kirkland Signature Speyside 23 Year (2020 Ed.)

Country/Region : Scotland/Speyside

ABV : 46%

Cask : Ex-Bourbon, Ex-Oloroso Finish

Nose : Fruity, malty, and surprisingly rich.  Fruit cake for the holidays— dried figs, plums dates, and berries.  Rich malty notes of toasted brioche and rum baba cake led to chocolate, leather, and mild coffee.

Palate : Medium bodied with nice viscosity and a mild dryness.  Fruity and malty the palate matched the nose with just a bit more spice.  Rum raisin cake, boozy fruit cake, and chocolate soufflé.  A few drops of water brought out berry jam, dried figs, vanilla, and cinnamon.  Toward the end notes of fudge, coffee liqueur, and leather began to appear.

Finish : Lingering notes sugary fruits and cake.

Grade : 6

Mental Image : February side-eye toward the leftover Fruit Cake

Notes : I thought I was done with reviews for 2020, I have so many just sitting in notebooks waiting to be typed up— but then this appeared a few days ago.  I made the time to give it a few tastes across different evenings so I could jot down some thoughts and end the year with one more mystery.  These Kirkland mystery malts are great value and coming in at $70 it was a bit cheaper than the two previous 22 Year and 20 Year editions that came out in 2020.  This was an excellent representation of a lightly sherried Speyside full of fruits and lovely rich oloroso notes.

Carrying the same stylized view of the Craigellachie Bridge as the other 2020 mystery Speysiders, this bottle definitely felt as though it had a more significant oloroso influence.  It was tempting to guess at the distillery and trying this side by side with the 22 Year I do not think these came from the same place.  This had a much better mouthfeel with more weight and a slight waxiness; it was not nearly as dry as some of the previous bottles.  The list of possible suspects has included distilleries such as Glenrothes, Tomintoul, Glen Ord, and Craigellachie. Though the distillery this reminded the most of was in fact Clynelish— though as a Highland Distillery it wouldn’t be a candidate for the source of this malt.

Overall, this was a fine bottle and I am not surprised that it has literally flown off the shelves at the local Costcos.