anCnoc 18 Year

Nose: Sweet honeyed malt, butterscotch toffee, roasted hazelnuts, autumn leaves, red berries, dark cherries, boiled Christmas pudding and marmalade. There’s a very mild hint of eucalyptus and oak cask in the background. Palate: Sweet arrival (but not overly sweet – just enough) mainly showing chewy rich malt and mocha coffee with a dusting of dry cocoa powder. In the development a more spicy side shows through with mild ginger, sweet cinnamon and nutmeg in evidence, but it always remains genteel, elegant and refined. The texture is very good, full-bodied and creamy. Towards the finish an excellent orange note becomes prominent. Finish: Long. Malt and preserved fruits leading into an extended aftertaste with echoes of the spices from the palate and a finale of sweet leathery tobacco and orange liqueur. A most enjoyable dram. The nose is delightfully fragrant and improves with every second of rest in the glass – do not hurry this dram. The palate is longer than you might initially think. It’s one of those profiles that is immediately good and then just keeps rolling along, gradually revealing more and more subtle flavours. There is a twinge of sulphur in the background but it acts as a spice and adds complexity and depth to everything else. You may not even notice it, but you won’t miss the subtle and lingering positive effect it has on the spice notes and its contribution to the length. Highly recommended. While scanning the online sellers today I saw a bottle of this and after checking my database I discovered I had a tasting sample from another company already on my shelves! I had not planned any tasting today but decided to give it a try. Result? I just ordered two bottles. Tasted from a 30 ml sample. “Excellent” : 88/100 (4.5 stars)

Ancnoc. Have you tasted anything from them? Because i recently discovered it after 900 whiskies, and believe me, it was one of the most important discoveries i have made lately. After a couple good expressions i wanted to step up my game. That is why i have picked the 18yo, which is one of the reddish whiskies i have seen, and we are talking about natural color here. Bottled at 46%abv. On the nose, it starts slow. Red fruits, Spicy prunes; Cigarrettes and Madeira wine. It is like a Cigarrette with a cherry infusion. On the palate, it is fantastic. Red fruits: Strawberries, Port wine and Prunes. It is so syrupy, red fruit syrup. Fresh farm fruits. It is like a strawberry marmalade. Aftertaste is very well delivered. Acid prunes and very astringent. Winey with mild ashiness. Strawberries. Overall, i have to say that the nose lost some points, but after that, this was a memorable whisky. I loved the mixture of peaty notes and the port wine red fruitiness. Amazing, enjoyable, elegant, complex, delicious dram. I would buy a bottle, and the price is not out of this world. My score for it is 90 over 100.

Nose - Very pleasant fruity caramel, fruity apple-berry cider, hint of blueberries Taste - Sweet fruity apple-berry cider, golden raisins, hint of cayenne heat/spice, light caramel, lightly drying Finish - Spicy gentle heat, lingering fruity caramel, dark apple/pear juice sweetness, golden raisins, hint of blueberry Score - 88/100 Final Thoughts - This one was quite nice. A bit muted initially on the nose, but it eventually opens up a bit more. Very pleasant experience from start to finish with no off-putting notes. Nice balance of caramel sweet and fruit from the ex-bourbon & sherry. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Yes Would I buy a bottle? - I'd be willing to pay up to $80 USD for this

Nose: Green Apple, Vanilla, Apricot, Fresh Sweet Bread, Grass, Marmalade, Caramel. Palate: Full bodied, Raisin, tannins, heather honey, oak spices, casis. This is going to be a whisky I come back to, ancnoc seems to consistently be a very gentle whisky when you first open it, then evolves beautifully with air. When I first tried the 12 year old expression of ancoc it was very unimpressive and lacked flavor if im being honest. Coming back to it a few weeks after the initial taste I was amazed at how dramatically different the whisky was. So much more flavor and richness was present in the 12, brought my personal rating up from a 3.0 to a 3.75. I will re review this one later but for now it gets a 3.5.

This is the first note in a series coming from an Inver House tasting/master class this evening. The anCnoc 18 was the second dram of the night (after the 12 year), and it is quite something. The 12 year old anCnoc is a light, fresh, fruity affair; this, meanwhile, sees some time in 1st fill Oloroso sherry casks, and it shows. Rich, full, and abounding in chocolate-covered raisin notes, spices, and nutty notes, this is a darker, much more indulgent affair than its younger predecessor. It's still perhaps a bit too straightforward to get five stars from me, but this is a fine whisky well worth seeking out and savoring.

Dramfest `18....Day 2....I was getting towards the bitter end....my notes starting going from mildly illegible to finally non-existant at 40 or so drams in near the 5 hours mark :-). So memory...I thought it was ok, nothing special...beyond that I'll leave it up to Cam and JoeC to provide more detailed notes :-). I have samples of the 22 and 24 which I'll have to crack open sometime.