anCnoc 2009 Vintage
Philip Day looks at anCnoc 2009 Vintage. In this feature, Philip provides his tasting notes and background information about the Knockdhu Distillery.
Hallowe’en done and dusted, we’ve also changed the clocks and thoughts are now turning towards the festive season and have I got a suggestion for you as the darker nights turn longer and colder.
On the 26th October, anCnoc Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky celebrated the latest release from its acclaimed vintages collection with the unveiling of anCnoc 2009 Vintage.
This special limited-edition expression proudly showcases the heritage and skill of Knockdhu’s small distillery team in creating a distinctive yet approachable whisky, with passion, tradition and craftsmanship distilled into every bright golden drop.
A delicate spicy, woody nose combines with anCnoc’s classic honey and citrus notes, demonstrating the time that this beautiful malt has spent quietly maturing in a combination of first-fill Spanish oak butts and ex-bourbon American oak barrels. With each sip, drinkers can look forward to delicious flavours of rich spice, sweet green apple, dark chocolate and butterscotch, with a smooth finish.
Vintage 2009 comes with anCnoc’s stylish, contemporary packaging, with touches of electric blue added for the new expression.
It is non-chill filtered with natural colour and is available from specialist retailers only – with the release perfectly timed for whisky drinkers looking for a new, beautifully crafted dram to enjoy or gift over the festive season.
anCnoc is crafted at Knockdhu Distillery in the small village of Knock, by Huntly in Aberdeenshire, where Distillery Manager Gordon Bruce and his long-standing team dedicate themselves to the traditional craft of making excellent whisky.
Gordon commented: ‘We’ve been waiting twelve years for this vintage and it has definitely been worth the wait. This is a dram that has all the light, fresh qualities of anCnoc that are so loved by our drinkers, but there’s also a rich spiciness and complexity from its time in the casks.
‘It’s always a joy to release a new whisky out into the world. I’m particularly proud that the character of this new vintage captures the way we do things at Knockdhu, and the traditions we hold dear, yet it still tastes like a very modern single malt. anCnoc 2009 Vintage will be a real treat for whisky drinkers looking for something a little bit different to explore, or as a special addition to the Christmas list of anyone who appreciates a well-crafted single malt’.
anCnoc 2009 Vintage is bottled in 70cl at 46% ABV, non-chilled filtered and with natural colour. Only 1,320 cases are available for UK and global markets, sold through independent and specialist retailers and whisky shops from 26th October, RRP £50.
Let’s look at the expression in detail:
anCnoc 2009 Vintage (Vintages Collection)
Tasting Notes (Supplied by Knockdhu Distillery):
Colour: Bright gold (natural colour)
Nose: Delicate spices of American oak with notes of citrus, green apple and sweet toffee. All wrapped up in anCnoc’s typical notes of honey and citrus.
Taste: Richly spice, sweet green apple, dark chocolate with a hint of butterscotch adding complexity.
Finish: A smooth, delicate finish.
Personal tasting notes (Official sample kindly provided by Knockdhu Distillery through Burt Greener Communications)
Nose: Engagingly sweet notes of toffee and honey with fruity aromas evocative of Granny Smith apples and citrus notes.
Taste: Hints of spices together with fresh notes of the green apples are discernible but do not overpower the whisky spirit. Balanced, with a stylish, mellow sweetness, infused with hints of rich cocoa and penny toffee.
Finish: Ethereal and smooth.
The very fact that allowing the peated whisky to fully mature in the ex-Bourbon casks has given the spirit time to interact, instilling it with a unique character. In short, the maturation period has created a well-rounded layered classic dram. The smoky warmth and the spiced fruity notes make it very accessible, at a reasonable price point.
ABV: 46% non-chill-filtered/ 70 cl
RRP: £50
Knockdhu Distillery:
anCnoc is produced at Knockdhu Distillery, which is located in Knock near Huntly in Aberdeenshire, sitting in the shadow of the ‘Black Hill’ (Gaelic: ‘Knockdhu’). It was established in 1894 by the pioneering John Morrison, after he spotted an abundance of the natural resources needed to make fine malt whisky in the area: pure spring water and plentiful supplies of peat and barley. The site was also chosen for its proximity to the Knock Station on the Banff branch line of the Great North of Scotland Railway (GNSR) between Aberdeen and Elgin.
Today, Knockdhu is known as one of the smallest and most enchanting distilleries in the Scottish Highlands, producing a refreshingly modern single malt whisky while still employing the most traditional skills and processes. The Black Hill continues to supply pure water for the whisky making process. The distillery’s two copper pot stills replicate the original 1894 design, their bulbous bases giving anCnoc its light, fresh, fruity flavour. Old fashioned worm tubs are used to condense the vaporised alcohol.
Taken together, the pure waters, locally malted barley, distillation in traditional copper stills and maturation in American ex-bourbon casks combine to give the whisky its smooth, well-balanced, classic Speyside character. Previously named ‘Knockdhu’ after the distillery, the whisky was renamed under the Gaelic name anCnoc (‘the hill’ in English) in 1994, to avoid confusion with whisky from the Knockando Distillery.
Over the years, Distillery Manager Gordon Bruce, and his team at Knockdhu Distillery have built an extensive range of Speyside Single Malt whiskies, offering a flavour and style to suit all tastes, all of which can be discovered on the distillery website.
Distillery Tours:
The Distillery normally welcomes visitors, however because of Covid-19 restrictions distillery tours are not currently available. See website for any updates.
Address: Knockdhu Distillery
Knock
Huntly
Aberdeenshire
AB54 7LJ
Email: visitor.centre@glen-moray.co.uk
Facebook: @ancnocsinglemalt
Twitter: @ancnoc_whisky
Instagram: ancnoc_whisky
Website: https://www.ancnoc.com
Inver House Distillers is a wholly owned subsidiary of International Beverage Holdings Ltd., one of the drinks industry’s most dynamic global businesses. It produces its Scotch whiskies and gin at five distilleries around Scotland: Pulteney, Speyburn, Knockdhu, Balblair and Balmenach. Inver House is also highly active in the warehousing and blending of Scotch whisky, with warehousing for 500,000 barrels and state of the art blending and laboratory facilities at its headquarters in Airdrie. The business has won many prestigious accolades over the years, including the Icons of Whisky Distiller of the Year Award for Scotland (2017).
References:
Press release care of Burt Greener Communications
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knockdhu_distillery
http://www.worldwhiskiesawards.com
Images:
https://ancnoc.com/media/1236/Knockdhu-Distillery-Manager-Gordon-Bruce-.jpg
https://ancnoc.com/media/1232/anCnoc-dunnage-warehouses.jpg
Others kindly provided with thanks by Burt Greener Communications