Bought: Kingsbarns Distillery Online Shop, 5th February 2019
Ratings:
81.8/100 – Whiskybase (average from 97 member votes)
When I started on my whisky journey in 2013 there were only 3 active single malt distilleries in the Scottish lowlands, which were Auchentoshan, Bladnoch and Glenkinchie. None of these distilleries were known for producing breathtaking spirit and indeed Bladnoch even stumbled and closed in 2014. Basically the region wasn’t setting the whisky world on fire. But now, 6 years later, I feel confident in saying that no other region has expanded as much as the lowlands of Scotland. Wikipedia list 9 new active distilleries, so an increase of 300% with 9 more in development. Personally in the last few years I’ve added bottles from Aisla Bay, Daftmill, Eden Mill, The Glasgow Distillery and now Kingsbarns. I’d add Annandale if they ever sold a whisky at a sensible price!
It was my WordPress buddy Tobi over on Barley Mania that put me onto ‘Dream to Dram’ by the Kingsbarns distillery when they posted about it in February 2019. I rushed over to the Kingsbarns online shop and ordered a bottle of their new 3-year-old. They must have been so excited to be supplying one of the world’s leading whisky bloggers that they sent me two bottles – what a bonus! So even more youthful nectar to enjoy.
Scoring almost 82/100 on Whiskybase is a very good score, especially for a 3-year-old whisky from a new distillery. Comments across the internet seem very favourable including, “clean, sweet, with lovely vanilla and berry notes”, “very smooth on first taste – not at all harsh like some youngsters that I have tasted in the past”, “still a bit young, but already very promising” and “for three years, this whisky really succeeded”.
Combining 1st fill bourbon barrels with wine casks might seem like a gamble for a new distillery but it’s certainly paid off for Kingsbarns and it shows that their master blender knows their stuff. The distillery, not far from St Andrews in Fife, offer tours and score an excellent 4.5/5 stars on Trip Advisor, so well worth a visit.
Tasting notes from Master of Malt:
Nose: You can really smell those first-fill bourbon casks. There’s vanilla and crème brûlée plus lots of new make character, tropical fruit, and quite pronounced alcohol.
Palate: Smooth texture, sweet cereal notes, light and fruity, with some roasty coffee notes.
Finish: Banana bread, of all things.
Here’s ‘Great Drams Whisky Reviews’ with their thoughts about ‘Dream to Dram’ on YouTube (May 2019):
Whisky Den 