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27th March 2014 |
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anCnoc have
introduced their first peaty expressions
in modern times.
As you will know Scotch malt whisky
distilleries which were established back
in the 1800's used natural local
resources to produce their whisky and
this included peat which was used to
fire the kilns to dry the malted barley.
The Knockdhu distillery (which produces
anCnoc whisky) was
established back in 1894 was no
different, it produced a peaty style of
whisky back in its early days. However
over time, like most distilleries
production methods changed, giving us
the non-peated, high quality
mainly bourbon cask and 15% sherry cask matured sweet fruity
light malt style of anCnoc whisky
which we are familiar with today.
You may have heard some rumours over the
years of anCnoc doing heavily peated
spirit runs, well I can confirm that it
was more than just rumours, back in 2004
the good folks at anCnoc decided to take a
big step back in time and set about
producing a heavily peated spirit in
homage to anCnoc's peaty beginnings.
This heavily peated spirit which the
Knockdhu distillery started producing
back in 2004 has now
come of age in the form of three new
limited edition peaty expressions of
anCnoc named Rutter, Flaughter and
Tushkar which were revealed yesterday
evening at a launch event in Glasgow. Those of you who may have a bit of
knowledge of peat cutting will recognise
the names of the three new whiskies as
each has taken its name from a spade
used to cut peat.
Peat is a remarkable thing, it is an
accumulation of partially decayed
vegetation or organic matter and takes
thousands of years to form and is
found today in abundance in the peat bogs
throughout Scotland. You
will all already know that drying the
malted barley using kilns fuelled with
peat will give the final whisky a
distinctive peaty flavour but the trick
is controlling the peat levels and not
overpowering the whisky especially a
light malt style such as anCnoc.
The peatiness of the
whisky that is bottled is all down to the phenol
content of the distilled spirit,
measured in Parts Per Million (PPM),
the higher the PPM the peatier the
whisky. This in turn depends on how
peated the barley used in the distilling
process is. It is a fine balance and
having tasted the three new whiskies I
can say that anCnoc have got that
balance right, they have managed to add a darker peaty
side to
their whisky without overpowering the
classic light anCnoc whisky style which we
know.
Often distilleries like to
try to attract the peat heads amongst
you by telling you how peaty the malted
barley was which was used to produce the
whisky but that doesn't tell you how
peaty the final whisky is but hats off
to anCnoc for in the case of these three
new peaty anCnoc whiskies they have
stated on the bottle the PPM of each
whisky. The anCnoc Rutter has a PPM of
11, anCnoc Flaughter has a PPM of 14.8
and the peatiest of the three but not by
much is the anCnoc Tushkar which has a PPM of
15.
I would say that the team at
anCnoc know that they have produced and
outstanding quality peaty expression of
anCnoc and have known this for sometime.
The reason I say this is back in 2012
the distillery was running at its full
capacity of 1.75million litres and 35%
of that output was peated production
with the specification of the barley
being around 45 PPM. Then in 2013 the
output was increased to 1.9million litres of which
400,000 litres was heavily peated to
45PPM.
I don't think it would be
a far stretch of the imagination to say
that we can deduce from the production
figures that there is a very good chance
that we will see a peaty expression of
anCnoc added to the core range in the
future but meanwhile we have the three
new outstanding peaty limited edition
bottlings of anCnoc Rutter, anCnoc Flaughter
and anCnoc Tushkar to satisfy our taste
for peat. How often do we get the chance
to compare whiskies of around the same
age, from the same distillery and
matured in the same type of cask but
each with a different peating level, I
cant recall this before. Get them while
you can as I don't think they will be
around long!
You will find anCnoc
Rutter and
Flaughter available from
The Whisky Exchange, priced
£51.45. anCnoc Tushkar will be
available exclusively in Sweden.
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anCnoc Rutter Tasting
Notes
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William
Morrison's Tasting Notes:
 anCnoc Rutter
takes its name from the Rutter spade
which is used to size and separate the
peat blocks producing a turf that is
slow burning. This peat creates less
reek and therefore gives the whisky a
more fragrant smokiness. The anCnoc
Rutter has a PPM of 11, it was matured in
bourbon casks, non chill-filtered,
natural colour and bottled at 46% ABV. Rutter is limited to 6000 bottles.
Priced around £52.
Nose:
Lovely sweet creamy vanilla coated in
peat smoke hits you first and this is
followed by pineapple and pear.
Taste:
A touch of sweet heathery honey and
vanilla balanced with mild mouth coating
peat smoke. Grassy, some creamy milk
chocolate, green apples and just a touch
of oak spice.
Finish:
The mild peat smoke and creamy vanilla
slowly fade.
Comment:
Rutter has a subtle smokiness which
is balanced well with the sweet honey
and vanilla. Becomes more smoky with
each mouthful, a very enjoyable whisky.
SMW Score
87/100
anCnoc Rutter is now available from The
Whisky Exchange Priced £51.45
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anCnoc Flaughter Tasting
Notes
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William
Morrison's Tasting Notes:
 anCnoc Flaughter takes its name
from the Flaughter spade which is used
to remove the top layer of peat which is
richer and more rooty. This gives a
smokier flavour to the whisky. The
anCnoc Flaughter has a PPM of 14.8,
matured in bourbon casks, non
chill-filtered, natural colour and bottled at 46% ABV. Flaughter
is limited to 9000 bottles. Priced
around £52.
Nose:
Bonfire embers initially, a toffee
sweetness that is tied up with the
phenols, trademark anCnoc green apples
and pear.
Taste:
A sweet brown sugar delivery quickly
followed by waves of delicious peat
smoke, tobacco, creamy vanilla, green
apple, some zesty orange peel and mild
oak spice.
Finish:
A lovely lingering smooth finish with
slowly drying mild peaty oak spice.
Comment:
It was a close call but this is my pick
of the evenings tastings, delicious peat
smoke intensifies by the mouthful but
not so intense that it subdues the
classic anCnoc sweet vanilla and citrus
style I know. Fingers crossed this style
will join the anCnoc core range in the
future. Flaughter really is an
outstanding balance of the classic
anCnoc style and peat smoke.
SMW Score
91/100
anCnoc Rutter is now available from The
Whisky Exchange Priced £51.45
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anCnoc Tushkar Tasting
Notes
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William
Morrison's Tasting Notes:
 anCnoc Tushkar takes its name from the
Tushkar spade which has a long blade
that cuts down through the peat
producing a turf with a medium to slow
burn. This peat adds a medium smokiness
to the whisky. The anCnoc Tushkar has a
PPM of 15, matured in first fill bourbon casks
for added kick, non
chill-filtered, natural colour and bottled at 46% ABV. Tushkar
is limited to 4500 bottles and will be
exclusively available in Sweden.
Nose:
Green apples and honey tucked in behind
the peat smoke, vanilla and oak spice.
Taste:
Rich, full bodied. Sweet vanilla oak
spices lead here followed by waves of
delicious peat smoke, some zesty orange
and lemon, honey.
Finish:
Slowly fading peat smoke and mildly
drying oak spice
Comment:
The added kick of the first fill bourbon
cask certainly adds to the whisky's
intensity, but at the same time subdues
some of the anCnoc style we are familiar
with which still showed through in the Flaughter.
It doesn't make it any better or worse a
whisky just different, it really depends
on how much oak spice you want with your
peat smoke. Certainly the most intense
of the trio and another cracking
expression for the peat heads but with
added spice.
SMW Score
89/100
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