anCnoc Highland Single Malt – two new doses of peated pleasure
anCnoc Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky, produced by Knockdhu Distillery (pronounced ‘a-nock’) has released two exceptional new whiskies, both of which are set to delight peat lovers the world over. The new releases build on the success of the brand’s award-winning peated range. Philip Day provides an insight into both of these anCnoc Highland Single Malt whiskies.
Two new anCoc Highland Single Malt peated whiskies
Launched on 1st July, anCnoc Sherry Cask Finish, Peated Edition and anCnoc Peatheart Batch 3 have been crafted by Knockdhu Distillery Manager Gordon Bruce and his small, skilled team in Aberdeenshire, using the same traditional tools and techniques they use to make anCnoc’s unpeated drams.
A tribute to the founders of Knockdhu Distillery
Their process pays tribute to Knockdhu’s founders by using the locally sourced barley smoked with Aberdeenshire peat that would have defined the character of whiskies made when the Distillery was founded back in 1894.
Sweeter and woodier than the more pungent peat used for whisky making in other parts of the Highlands and Islands, the resulting anCnoc drams are amongst the most modern, interesting and accessible peated single malts on the market today.
Let’s look at the expressions in detail.
anCnoc Sherry Cask Finish, Peated Edition
A permanent new addition to Knockdhu’s family of acclaimed single malts, this non-aged expression bursts with anCnoc’s soft, sweet, fruity flavours and the delicious vanilla and warm spice of a sherry finish – but with the added richness of subtle, lingering, campfire smoke.
The whisky is crafted using a combination of Knockdhu’s peated and non-peated spirit, and after an initial maturation period in American oak casks, it’s finished in sherry butts from Jerez which hone the whisky’s character – as smoky spirit mingles with sweet spicy wood.
anCnoc released its first peated sherry expression in 2020, exclusively for the Swedish market. Its popularity amongst whisky drinkers, particularly those looking to explore peated whiskies for the first time, prompted the decision to craft an expression for anCnoc’s other key global markets.
Tasting Notes (provided by Knockdhu Distillery through Burt Greener Communications)
Colour: dark amber
Nose: sweet honey and tropical fruit, notes of cinnamon and rich toffee, delicate campfire smoke
Taste: toffee apples coated in warming spices, deep vanilla, a rich, sweet, smoky character
Finish: long, wood smoke, caramel, vanilla
Personal tasting notes (Official sample kindly provided by Knockdhu Distillery through Burt Greener Communications)
Nose: Engagingly sweet notes of toffee and cinnamon fruity aromas remind me of warm, freshly barbecued honey-drizzled pineapple slices with an attractive smoky punch in the background.
Taste: Balanced, rich smokiness with a stylish, creamy vanilla mouth feel giving way to a zesty mellow sweetness, creating a well-rounded, layered dram.
Finish: Long lingering finish, with enduring waves of enticing peppery spiced caramel and notes of sweet and creamy vanilla-laced fruitiness. A smoke-infused finale develops as a warming afterglow.
Allowing the peated whisky to finish in the sherry butts has instilled 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.
Bottled in 70cl at 43% ABV, RRP £40.
anCnoc Peatheart Batch 3
The latest addition to anCnoc’s award-winning limited edition Peatheart series, Batch 3 has been long awaited by anCnoc fans following the launch of Peatheart Batch 1 in 2017 and followed by Batch 2 in 2020.
The Distillery team crafts Peatheart whiskies with just the right amount of peated barley, maturing them in American oak ex-bourbon casks to perfectly marry anCnoc’s light, honey, citrus notes with flavours of rich, soft, ashy barbecue smoke.
These qualities are in abundance in Batch 3, but this time round there’s a slightly more pronounced fragrant grassiness, with enhanced notes of green apple and citrus cutting through the oily smokiness.
This latest batch also pioneers a better way to help drinkers understand the level of peatiness in their bottle, by indicating two ppm levels (phenol parts per million): for both the barley and the finished whisky. The peat smoke used in production gives barley a unique phenol level, and for Peatheart Batch 3, anCnoc’s Master Blender specifies a barley with 34ppm. Phenols are lost during the whisky-making process, however, so to truly understand a whisky’s peatiness, it’s the ppm of the whisky that matters most. In the case of Peatheart Batch 3 this is 13.3ppm, meaning it’s a bold but more mellow peated dram.
Tasting Notes (provided by Knockdhu Distillery through Burt Greener Communications)
Colour: pale gold
Nose: sweet barbecue smoke and earthy peated notes blend with aromas of honey and sweet spices to create a fragrant, grassy character
Palate: peaty smokiness laced with green apples and citrus, sweetened with a hint of vanilla and complemented by an oily smoky note which lingers in the finish
Personal tasting notes (Official sample kindly provided by Knockdhu Distillery through Burt Greener Communications)
Nose: Evocative sweetly spiced honey and citrus notes punchily carried on waves of earthy peat aromas and soft barbecue smoke.
Taste: The influence of the Bourbon oak barrels is discernible but does not overpower the whisky spirit. Balanced, rich smokiness with a stylish, zesty sweetness gives way to a creamy vanilla mouth feel, creating a well-rounded, layered dram.
Finish: Lengthy finish, as an oily smoke-infused finale develops as a warming afterglow.
Allowing the peated whisky to mature in the ex-Bourbon casks has given the spirit time to interact with the wood, instilling it with a unique character, creating a well-rounded layered classic dram. The peaty smoke warmth and the spiced fruity notes make it very appealing and flavoursome, at a reasonable price point.
Bottled in 70cl at 46% ABV, non-chilled filtered and with natural colour. 1535 cases available. RRP £55.
Gordon Bruce believes it’s the combination of superbly crafted small batch whisky, and the distinctive smokiness of Aberdeenshire peat that lies behind global demand for anCnoc’s peated range.
He commented: ‘I couldn’t count the number of people who tell me they love whisky but just can’t drink it when it’s peated; until, that is, they try anCnoc’s peated whiskies. Both of these new expressions are a tempting proposition: modern, hand-crafted single malts, featuring our light, fruity spirit with a dark, smoky twist. And both are made with the integrity, craft ethos and local resources that our single malt is known for, offering drinkers something genuinely different in the world of peated whisky.
With Sherry Cask Finish, Peated Edition, rather than those medicinal flavours that can be hard to gain a taste for, we’ve created a luscious single malt that offers the best of both worlds; an appealing, ashy smokiness with light, honied anCnoc notes.
Peatheart is a whisky that already has a lot of fans, but with Batch 3 there are some subtle differences and a few fresh flavours that we know drinkers are really going to enjoy.’
1535 cases of the new Peatheart Batch 3 will be available in the UK.
Whisky enthusiasts will surely be keen to get their hands on this bottling since it is certain to be in high demand following the critical acclaim achieved by its predecessors
Both whiskies will be available exclusively in the UK, at whiskyshop.com from 1st July 2023 before going on sale with independent and specialist retailers and on Amazon from 3rd July.
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.
anCnoc’s first foray into peated whisky began back in 2014 with the launch of a new ‘Peaty’ range, inspired by the whiskies made early in Knockdhu’s history using local peated barley.
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.
Address: Knockdhu Distillery
Knock
Huntly
Aberdeenshire
AB54 7LJ
Facebook: @ancnocsinglemalt
Twitter: @ancnoc_whisky
Instagram: ancnoc_whisky
Website: https://www.ancnoc.com
References
Press release care of Burt Greener Communications
http://www.interbevgroup.com/
Images
kindly provided with thanks by Burt Greener Communications