I think I have mentioned before this year that I need more anCnoc bottles and I eventually got around to doing something about it. The anCnoc 2002 vintage is the first bottle from this distillery I have bought this year. I really hope it won’t be my last but time and money are running out quickly as Christmas time approaches.

The Distillery

Knockdhu distillery was originally opened in 1894 in the village of Knock.

The distillery has been with the current owned Inverhouse since 1993 when it was bought as a silent distillery. The name of the brand was changed to AncNoc at this time as well.

The distillery currently produces both peated and non peated whisky from its pair of stills with the peated whisky bottles being released from 2014.

The Dram

AncNoc regularly do a single vintage bottle which steals its ideas from the world of wine. This particular version was distilled in 2002 and the last release in the series was from 2000 if you see that one out there. They are generally around 15 ish years old by the time they are bottled but to look at the 2002 specifically this is a combination of casks from Spanish and American oak.

Available for around £50 they are as usual for anCnoc natural colour and non chill-filtered. I guess it is to the industries credit now that those phases could be basically just cut and paste these phrases into every post just now. How times have changed from say the 1930’s when this book was written.

That however is a discussion for another day.

Tasting Notes

Colour – golden syrup

Nose – honey and spices with vanilla ice-cream and a touch of clove. When you add a teaspoon of water it becomes sweeter and brings a bowl of apples and custard.

Palate – Apple sauce and Frys chocolate orange bars. That tart orange centre is a stand out feature. Some un iced fruitloaf completes things

Finish – longer a little but not a lot. Chilli and chocolate

Final Thoughts

I liked this whisky but I wondered when I first opened the bottle if I had made a mistake. It seemed almost under matured on first pour if I am completely honest. In time though the delicate and complex interaction between spirit and gentle oak maturation came through