Quick Dram : AnCnoc 12

Today i am about to try a dram by one of the less known Speyside distilleries : AnCnoc. The distillery itself is called Knockdhu rather than AnCnoc, and until 1990 the whisky made was also branded Knockdhu . Apparently another distillery exists with a similar name (Knockando), so in order to save us the confusion between the two different distilleries, ‘AnCnoc’ was devised. AnCnoc means “The Hill” in Gaelic, where Knockdhu means “The Black Hill”. So,as you can see, the meaning remained intact, more or less.

The AnCnoc core line is very limited, and consists of 12,16 year olds, as well as Vintages (1995,1994 and the oldest : 1975 – the year yours truly was also born).

I will save you further reading about AnCnoc and Knockdhu , since you can read all about it in an excellent couple of posts written by Matt who visited the distillery only recently (lucky guy!). So have a look here, for further reading.

I’ve seen this single malts a few times around, and never really given it much attention, until recently, when i decided to get a bottle because of a good deal on the 12 year old at the Tel-Aviv duty free. For around $40 for a 1 Litre bottle, it’s a good bargain. I was not expecting miracles from this entry level 12 year old, but i remembered Ralfy Vlogging about it and rather liking it.

So, let’s dram!

AnCnoc 12 , 43% , £24

Colour: Pale gold

Nose: Crisp,light with vanilla, honey and some citrus notes (lemon rind).  some grass. Light and crisp, that would best describe it.

Palate: Fruity, mostly sultanas, sweeter than the nose suggests with the lemon less evident. cereals, and pear Schnapps too.

Finish : fruity, some metal notes (brass), quite short.

Bottom line:

a nice Speysider, light, simple, and refreshing. ideal for summer,but don’t get your hope too high on this one.Enjoyable as it is, it lacks complexity. I think it’s a good starting point for novice single malt drinkers, and should be great for a hot climate as ours.