Welcome back Everyone! Today we are returning to our roots. How do I mean that? Well, the first ever review I put on this site was about two lovely Kingsbarns bottle. You can read that article by clicking HERE. A few months ago I picked up the Bell Rock CS for a very good price and since then I thought about opening it. But I didn't open it yet. However I was lucky enough to get a sample of it and so I tried it and surprise, surprise... or not? I loved it. Well to be honest Kingsbarns has a special place in my heart, they make good whisky and they are very friendly people. I've had the pleasure of talking to a few lads from there and they were all very helpful and kind. Now let's get into the whisky and let's get some basic info about Kingsbarns. Strap in.

About the Distillery

Kingsbarns distillery is a Scotch whisky distillery located in Kingsbarns, Fife in the Lowlands whisky region in Scotland. The distillery was founded in 2014 by Douglas Clement and is owned by Wemyss malts with a capacity to produce 200,000 litres of spirit per year.

The founder of the distillery is Douglas Clement. Formerly a golf caddie, Douglas was inspired to open a distillery near to the famous golf courses in the St Andrews and Kingsbarns area. The Kingsbarns Distillery in Fife officially opened on 30th November 2014, St Andrew's Day, with the first spirit running through the stills in January 2015.  

The distillery character of Kingsbarns can be described as fruity, light and complex.  

Kingsbarns produces around 200,000 litres of new make spirit annually. The water needed for the production is extracted by drilling into the ground for groundwater. A well, which is around 100 meters deep, is used to get to mineral-rich, less salty water. This type of water extraction has significant advantages over other water sources. Other distilleries draw their water from rivers, streams or lakes, but if these water sources dry up during the hot summer time, the distilleries are forced to stop their production for that time. Furthermore, the well has a constant water temperature for the production. A biological treatment plant on the site takes care of the purification of the process water.

Spirit is distilled in two Scottish medium sized stills by Richard Forsyth of Rothes. Kingsbarns distillery uses one Wash Still, which holds about 8000 litres, and one Spirit Still with about 4800 litres capacity. Both have wide necks and a lyne arm, which drops slightly after the bend.

After the distillation, the New Make Spirit with 72% vol. lands in an alcohol container. There it is brought down to 63.5% vol. and then filled into the casks. The maturation of the largest share of Whisky does not take place in the distillery itself, since the premises are too small. Kingsbarns Whisky matures mainly in ex-Bourbon barrels, which were shipped from the United States as a whole, but also larger barrels, such as Sherry casks or Port Wine casks, which were reprocessed and recharred using the STR procedure (Shaved, Toasted and Recharred) for use.

Kingsbarns Bell Rock 2023 Cask Strength - Natural Color, Non-chill filtered, 61.1%

"Kingsbarns Bell Rock is the new Limited Edition 2023 of the young distillery from the Lowlands. The cuvée of 30% ex-Bourbon and 70% ex-Oloroso sherry casks has a strong and lush sherry cask influence, which comes through very well at 61.1% vol. Cask strength comes across very well. Master Blender Isabella Wemyss once again demonstrates her skills with this bottling, making the Bell Rock Single Malt the ideal addition to Kingsbarns' standard range."

Nose: Very rich and sweet nose right away. Lots of caramel and toffee, freshly baked bread. Cinnamon rolls with a nice sugar frosting. Lovely notes of dark chocolate and espresso. Caramelized dark oranges and cherries. Figs, dates and prunes along with a strong vanilla scent. This is a young whisky with a very high ABV but the alcohol is nowhere to be found in my opinion, it doesn't ruin the nose at all. It's very well hidden and this nose shows great maturity. By adding some water, diluting it down to about 50% the whisky opens up a bit more. It shows notes of forest fruits and a lovely basket of orchard fruit too. This is way more complex than what I was expecting. Great.

Taste: Wow, this is strong. Mouthwatering. The alcohol can be felt here obviously. I have not yet tasted a whisky that's over 60% and doesn't have a burn. So nothing bad here. it's just how it is. When it's such a high ABV, it's impossible to not feel a burn down your throat. However on a scale of 1-10 the burn is about a 3-4 so it's not that bad at all, it doesn't disturb me for sure. The whisky is extremely oily. Notes of almonds, baking spices and dark chocolate. Followed by espresso and tobacco leaves. Again cinnamon rolls with vanilla sauce and a sugar frosting. Dark fruits such as prunes and fresh seville oranges. It's the sweetness that stands out, and that is what keeps this whole whisky together. Again with the added water, the whisky opens up more and more. Juicy red apples, pears and apricots. Some manuka honey and fresh forest fruits. Raspberries and strawberries. Lovely and complex palate.

Finish: The finish is long and warm. Water does not change it all that much. It's very sweet and minty. The sweetness and spiciness is in balance. Great finish. Doesn't rush you into drinking more and more. You can savor it at a nice and slow pace.

Overall this whisky is awesome. It is very young but imagine what they will taste like when they age a bit more. This is a whisky that's really worth it in my opinion. Kingsbarns never fails to disappoint me. I like what they do, I like what they release and that's that. This whisky is getting a fairly high 88 / 100. Buy it, taste it and savor it. Don't be afraid because it's young, in today's world of whisky it doesn't mean anything. I've had more bad whisky that was aged for longer times than younger whiskies lately.

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Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. To many more. Sláinte.