All good things must come to an end, and so does this series dedicated to teenage whiskies with today’s review of the anCnoc 18-year-old. There are a lot more iconic teen whiskies which would deserve a mention and a review. And maybe there will be a second wave of teen reviews in the future. But for now, it’s almost time to move to a new topic. However, not before this review of the anCnoc 18 and a few thoughts on the future of this distillery’s releases and how their owner, Inver House, is evolving.
TL:DR: A great classy single malt, hopefully here to stay
Score: 8, something special
InverHouse, and the race to the bottom
InverHouse has been under the spotlight for a while, and its latest moves have been creating concerns with whisky aficionados. Things started in 2017, when they drastically changed the core lineup of Old Pulteney. Gone were the beloved 17 and 21, replaced by the 15 and the 18, and the 12 was diluted to 40% ABV in all markets. Now, I did enjoy the Old Pulteney 15 in my recent review, but since I never tried the 17, I might simply not know what I a missing.
More recent news caused renewed concern and disappointment. The announcement that Speyburn’s lineup would be downgraded to 40%, chill filtered, resulted in a lot of noise and even a petition started by Dramface’s own Wally Macaulay to ask InverHouse to reconsider the decision (The accompanying Dramface article gives a lot of great context as to why the change matters)
How does it affect anCnoc?
Which takes me to what Inverhouse has decided to do at Knockdhu, anCnoc’s home distillery and some more rumours around that. (If you are wondering why the distillery and whisky have different names, check my old anCnoc 12 review.) InverHouse, after years of aficionados asking for it, brought back the 16-year-old after about a decade, but rather than in its original 46% unchillfiltered form, at 43% with associated chill-filtration.
And speculation has been running wild among aficionados regarding the future of the 24-year-old and the 18 I am just about to review. Some believe these are effectively already discontinued: the fact that the last Bach of the 24 was released in 2023 as well as the last batch of the 18. Being from early 2024 does raise some concerns. None of this has been officially confirmed, and the hope is certainly that the speculation will prove false. But meanwhile, fans of Knockdhu (anCnoc) are understandably concerned given the recent decisions taken for Speyburn.
anCnoc 18 year old
Specs
Price paid: €94.88
Lot/bottled date: L23/11/2023
ABV: 46%
Natural colour: Yes
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Casks Used: Bourbon & Sherry
Tasting Notes
Colour: There is a rich amber hue, which many distilleries using caramel colouring seem to aim for. It’s the same hue as this AnCnoc18, only here it is fully natural.
Nose: The nose starts delicate, almost shy, but progressively opens to become elegant and balanced. At first, there is an aroma of a golden-baked pear and apple tart, spiced with vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. Then some freshness balances the sweet notes. Citrus, grapefruit and citron peel and that green basamic note I always get with AnCnoc, mellower than the 12 but still there nonetheless, resinous cedar wood. As the whisky opens up, I get a lot of dried orange peel, barley, the smell of an old oilskin raincoat and just a touch of dried yellow flowers.
Taste and finish: The taste reveals more of the Sherry cask impact than on the nose, well integrated and elegant. The mouthfeel is rich, warm, and slightly drying. The taste is malty, rich with baking spices, in particular cinnamon, ginger and cloves, dried apples and raisins, and almonds. I get even a little sherry rancio, orange peel, a hit of clean laundry and just a hint of chocolate.
The medium-long finish is slightly bitter, with a more noticeable cask. Then it turns spicy, clove and ginger, returning to those baked apple and pear fruits, a rich malty note, now slightly reminiscent of Ovaltine, and a slightly tannic mouthfeel to wrap things up.
Score*: 8, Something Special
Knockdhu very seldom gets mentioned in those “best of” lists (be it distilleries or bottlings). At the same time, some of its expressions, like the old 16 I mentioned earlier, the anCnoc 18 in this review or the 24, have an ardent fanbase. Even the 12, one of my first reviews, has a dedicated following. And maybe there is a reason why this distillery seems to be always the bridesmaid and never the bride. Because it tends to fade in the background in a scene made up of competitors who go for bold flavour or bold marketing. anCnoc does neither.
Its branding is minimal, and advertising is pretty much nonexistent. And its whiskies are well crafted, a pleasure to drink, but without any special character (or gimmicky one, if you want to be cynical) to make them stand out. This 18 fits that mould. There is nothing unique about its style or gimmicky cask finish – it is as “basic” as can be: unpeated, aged in a combination of ex-Bourbon and ex-Sherry. No funk, no special fermentation time or yeast strain, no fashionable cask finish. And yet it works. It works incredibly well.
In a similar way to the Kilkerran 16 I reviewed a couple of weeks back, it does what it does with confidence, and it delivers a great drinking experience. And doing so without what could positively be considered an old-fashioned style is something a bit special. I don’t know if the rumours are true, but to be safe, I grabbed another. bottle.
* Scores are based on the scoring scale used by Dramface, slightly modified to allow half-points
Interested in my take on a specific whisky style? Check the full Journey here and jump to the relevant Chapter.
After writing my tasting notes, I always find it interesting to look at other opinions. Here are a few other reviews of the anCnoc 18 I enjoyed:
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