Killowen Rum and Raisin Single Malt

World Rum Day on July 12th inspired this review of Killowen Rum & Raisin Single Malt. Killowen distills its own Dark Rum and then uses its rum casks when finishing this single malt sourced from Great Northern Distillery. 

Killowen is one of the smallest Irish distilleries, located in the Mourne Mountains of County Down. Despite its small stature, the artisinal methods of bonding, blending, and distilling have amassed a huge following of enthusiasts known as the Killowen Kult.

Killowen's Dark Rum is made from sugar and blackstrap molasses distilled in a thumper keg, a type of mini still that makes a thumping sound during the process. Killowen also uses a three cask solera method of blending the small batch rum before further aging. Killowen uses traditional methods for its whiskey as well, utilizing worm tubs it its double distillation process. Killowen has released several 3-4yr small batch single pot still whiskeys under the Barantuil moniker in recent years. These may be the subject of future reviews, but for now we are sampling their core brand sourced single malt. 

Killowen Rum & Raisin Single Malt is sourced whiskey from Great Northern Distillery in County Louth. It is bonded and blended at Killowen. The whiskey is aged 5 years in ex-bourbon casks before being split into two different casks for finishing: Px sherry butts and the before mentioned dark rum Killowen casks. The whiskey is non-chill filtered and bottled at a robust 55% abv cask strength. 

Originally, Killowen released this expression in limited edition small batches at 500ml size. I had the pleasure of buying Batch 1 Bottle 643 back in 2021 but it is long since gone. Batch releases came with age statements of 5 or 6 years. Killowen changed in late 2024 how they release this expression, going away from the limited edition small batches. The current bottling is a more standard 700ml size with black and gold labels on both sides. It is readily available across the USA.

This whiskey is both complex and very well balanced. The combination of bourbon, rum and Px sherry cask finishing brings layers of scents on the nose and flavors to the palate. Figs, vanilla, and coconut are detectable on the nose but nothing dominates. It is a rather unique nose attributable to the unusual finishing. The palate also exhibits the balanced flavor profile. Those familiar with Px sherry finishes would expect a sweet, syrupy element but this is muted by the rum influence. Coconut flavors are definitely evident along with vanilla notes from the bourbon cask maturation. 

The finish is medium to long which is good because it provides more time to discern the variety of flavors. Despite its 55% abv, the whiskey drinks like a much lower strength, in a good way. I detect the coconut more when consumed at cask strength. A few drops of water (which are not needed) seem to bring out the Px sherry sweetness more. 

This is one of the few core expression cask strength whiskeys as most are limited editions. That's good because this is a whiskey you are going to want to go back to again and again. While certainly worthy of drinking for World Rum Day, this expression can be enjoyed anytime given its complex and robust flavor profile.