anCnoc 22 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Now, continuing our proficiency in Gaelic - anCnoc - I won't even attempt to have a guess at this. Time to consult Google. Right, the website claims you pronounce it a-nock so lets go with that. And going forward with another mouthfull - the whisky is produced at the Knockdhu Distillery in the Village of Knock in Aberdeenshire.
Having just tasted the Springbank 10 Year Old I have big expectations for this 22 Year Old representation from anCnoc. A standard for the whisky industry where casks can be reused (as opposed to bourbon where it is first fill and the discarded) it is usual to find ex-bourbon matured whisky. What is harder to acquire and generally more desired are ex-sherry casks. In this case Knockdhu have matured this not only in ex-bourbon but also Spanish ex-oloroso casks.
As would be expected with a 22 Year Old whisky it is very dark. By far the darkest of all, definitely with red hues starting to dominate. It just looks like it's going to taste amazing.
Opening the bottle is a very pleasant experience. The aroma has notes of burnt toffee with spice undertones. There is a complexity, as would be expected with a whisky of this age, that I look forward to tasting.
Wow. Just wow. Very smooth would be the best way to describe the first taste. In subsequent tastes (not going to stop drinking this now) you can definitely taste the sherry influence coming through. Dark is how I want to describe the taste. It is just dark, but beautiful. Theres a hint of leather long in the aftertaste followed b
y cherry and dark chocolate. Very much enjoying this. I think I need a refill to confirm these results.