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Sourced for Costco from Scotland by Alexander Murray and Company, this edition of Kirkland's Highland Single Malt packs a 16-year age statement at an aggressive price point. Costco also regularly puts out a 15-year bottle for around five dollars less that is also sherry cask aged. I'm a bit perplexed by having two products so similar in terms of production techniques, age, and cost, so I will be doing a side-by-side tasting with some control methods to boot. My only hypothesis is that the two may be sourced from different distilleries as Costco is a truly huge contract account by volume and it may be necessary to spread the load. Not naming the producer gives Alexander Murray a good amount of flexibility, so I wouldn't be surprised to see it used in that way. On the other hand, maybe Steve Lipp, Alexander Murray and Co's CEO, just likes having two versions? Both bottles have the same quote from him on the back, "Perfect for after dinner drinking." Costco is famous for limiting on the total number of SKUs it will allow in the product catalog, so I have to imagine there is some significant reason for the two very similar offerings.
In any case, Oloroso sherry casks from Jerez, Spain have been used to finish scotch since the technique was pioneered in the 1980s, and the casks impart flavors of dried fruit and nutty sweetness to the whisky, complementing well the mild honey, fruit, and flower bouquet of Highland Scotch.
🛒Sourced: $60.59 - Costco Perimeter, GA - 750ml - That's only $3.79 per year! Dewar's has a blended 15 that is a good bit cheaper, but in terms of single malts, you'll be paying around $20 more a bottle for similar age named brands.
🧪Proof: 92 proof, 46% ABV - Big fan that it's not 80 proof. This is the same bottling ABV as the 15-year.
🎨Color: Y6 - a full and sunny disposition, some legs
🥔Mash Bill: 100% Malted Barley, finishes six months in Oloroso Sherry casks
👃Nose: Approachable with dried figs and currants, chardonnay, and pencil shavings - mild wood character.
😜Palate: Easy drinking honey with a flash of mince pie. There is a little bit of dry cereal on the mid palate. There is a medical cherry flavor that predominates the later part of each tasting and sustains into the finish.
💦Finish: Short and relatively cool, the cherry waltzing away peacefully into the night.
🏆 Overall: 5.75/10 - Pretty Good but the 15Yr is better - I tried this 16yr bad boy a number of times to get to this rating, including multiple three bottle blinds with the 15Yr and the Lasanta 12. While the Kirkland 16Yr does fine on its own, it doesn't offer nearly as much fruit as the 15yr or as robust a palate as the Lasanta. It does have more prevalent medicinal notes if that is up your alley, but I'd rather have more of the fruited profile in a sherry finish whisky. This was a great opportunity for me to revisit the 15-year and I am happy to have done so, but I am now even more confused. The two bottles definitely taste different (I was able to correctly identify all of the whiskies in all eight blind rounds), but I feel like the younger of the two is a better value and overall experience. Pick up the 16 when you can't find it's younger brother.
💵Would buy again? Probably not. I'd try it and the 15 again in a few years and see if the same balance holds true.
⚖️Rating Scale:
2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume it by choice.
3 | Bad | Multiple flaws | Struggle to get through the bottle
4 | Serviceable | Mixing or ice recommended.
5 | Good | Drinkable Neat | An agreeable dram indeed.
6 | Very Good | Any flaws offset by interesting flavors | A cut above.
7 | Great | You find yourself reaching for this one often | Well above average.
8 | Excellent | Serve to Impress Guests | Really quite exceptional.
9 | Incredible | An all time favorite | You guard this bottle jealously.