anCnoc 12yo, Vintage 2009
ABV: 46%
Region: Highlands
Price per bottle: °°
Bottling: Distillery (Knockdhu)
Cask type: American Oak ex-Bourbon Casks & Spanish Oak ex-Sherry Casks

Colour: Bright gold.
Nose: Fruity and spicy on the nose with green apples, honey and oak notes. Accompanied by toffee and floral tones with a touch of citrus in the background.
Palate: Rich on the palate with green apples, toffee and honey. At the same time warming notes of spicy oak. Plus some butterscotch, dark chocolate tones and a hint of floral notes towards the finish.
Finish: The finish is medium to long and soft with caramel. Becomes a little drier later with cocoa and a touch of oak.
With water: After adding water, spicier on the nose with notes of autumn leaves, plus fruity aromas of green apples and citrus. Sweet and creamy on the palate with green apples, caramel and oak spice followed by dark chocolate. The finish is medium long with creamy notes of caramel and honey, plus some oak.
Comments: Another beautiful, nicely composed single malt from the Knockdhu distillery with the typical fruity apple and sweet caramel notes, which are in good balance with the spicy flavours of the Spanish oak. A dram one can enjoy completely relaxed at the end of a successful day.

I thank Joh. Eggers Sohn GmbH for the complimentary sample and the photograph!

anCnoc Vintage 2001, 18yo, Germany Exclusive
ABV: 53.8%
Region: Highlands
Price per bottle: °°°
Bottling: Distillery (Knockdhu)
Cask type: American Oak ex-Sherry Cask (#480, 600 btl.)

Colour: Bright amber.
Nose: The nose reveals aromas of baked apples, sultanas, cake dough and a subtle buttery note. Smells like apple strudel with a pinch of cinnamon on top. There is also a slightly floral, perfume-like note, accompanied by some honey, caramel and a little liquorice in the background. The alcohol is well integrated.
Palate: Intense and powerful start on the palate with sweet vanilla, baked apples and some sultanas. In addition, a warming oak spiciness, accompanied by dry sherry and discreet nutty flavours. Full-bodied and complex.
Finish: The finish is long, spicy and fruity at the same time with creamy vanilla, some dry oak and a subtle nuttiness.
With water: After adding water, more floral notes on the nose, plus sherry, cinnamon, baked apples and some oak spice in the background. Pleasantly warming on the palate, but a little tamer, with sweet vanilla, baked apples, sherry and cinnamon. Seems juicier and less dry. The finish is still long, fruity and creamy with sherry, some dry oak and a slightly bitter fruit note.
Comments: This single cask was bottled only for the German market and impresses with its fruity, spicy aroma. Smells and tastes like liquid apple strudel - sweet, creamy and spicy in equal measure. The flavours are interwoven into a complex whole, with the sweetness predominating. The addition of water is recommended, as the alcoholic warmth is tamed a little, but the wonderful fruit sweetness remains for a long time. A dram for pleasant hours in the evening.

I thank Joh. Eggers Sohn GmbH for the complimentary sample!

anCnoc 24yo, 2020
ABV: 46%
Region: Highlands
Price per bottle: °°°
Bottling: Distillery (Knockdhu)
Cask type: Ex-Bourbon & ex-Sherry Casks

Colour: Gold.
Nose: Lush aromas of stewed fruit, mainly apricot and banana, rounded with sweet vanilla, honey, caramel and delicious butterscotch. Plus orange zest with a hint of cinnamon, some mint, a touch of herbs and fine oak spice in the background.
Palate: Full-bodied start with fruit jam, bananas, raisins and juicy Seville oranges, accompanied by creamy honey and caramel. Pleasantly warming and wonderfully accented with warming spices, malt sugar as well as creamy toffee, fine herbal notes and a hint of tobacco leaves.
Finish: A long finish, soft and persistent. Multi-layered with creamy honey, spicy notes of pepper and oak, with raisins shining through at the end.
With water: After the addition of a few drops of water floral on the nose with orange blossom, toffee, sweet vanilla, honey and some oak spice, with a subtle herbal note in the background. Sweet but less fruity on the palate. Tart orange with tobacco leaf, leathery notes, oak spice and some vanilla. The finish is still long lasting and slightly dry with notes of toffee, raisins and fine herbs.
Comments: Opulent, elegant, full-bodied - a Highland pearl! A wonderfully elegant, multi-faceted, full-bodied and complex dram. Nothing dominates, nothing disturbs - purest harmony in the glass. A perfectly composed Highland single malt, a multisensory highlight!

I thank Joh. Eggers Sohn GmbH for the complimentary sample and the photograph!