The Knockdhu distillery is currently owned by Inver House Distillers Limited, who are based in Aidrie, North Lanarkshire, The company is now a subsidiary of Thai Beverages which is one of the largest alcoholic beverage companies in South East Asia. The distillery itself was opened in 1894 and was built from local eye grey granite. The distillery currently runs with 1 wash still and 1 spirit still and has a capacity of 1,900,000 litres.
The AnCnoc 2000 vintage has matured in Spanidh oak ex sherry butts and American oak ex bourbon barrels. Bottled naturally ( just the way we like it ) no colour and NCF, and at 46%abv.
Nose.. This has a lovely relaxed bouquet, quite floral and fresh, heather honey and natural vanilla give way to candied orange and exotic spices, some dried fruits and subtle almond scents rise up through a oaky, citrus and chocolate scent.
Palate.. A lovely fresh sherried flavour, lots of dried fruit and citrus notes, chocolate orange and sugared almonds, some caramel with hints of honey drizzled pear, again some spices marry with a lovely oaky note.
Finish.. A medium dry type of finish with a spicy twist.
Thoughts.. So far all the AnCnocs I have tried have this lovely fresh feel to them, lots of good flavours without being big and bold, everything just feels and tastes so well balanced. Another very well balanced whisky worth trying..
I’ve got a bottle of this on the go at the moment and it really is a lovely dram. I really like the consistent toffee notes through the anCnoc range and with sherry maturation a nice spiced toffee note that carries through the 2000 vintage, the 18 and the 22 year old. Nods to Inver House for their policy on colouring, abv and chill-filtration, nicely applied to their other single malt ranges too (Balblair and Pulteney), some quality output across their portfolio.
LikeLike