Probably the best way to celebrate the launch of our Peaty Collection would have been to bring all the anCnoc fans to Knockdhu Distillery to share a dram with us. But as Knock is a tiny little place and you are great many, this wasn't really going to work. Just imagine the traffic.
The next best thing, we thought, was having two representatives of the anCnoc fandom brought here for a day of whisky shenanigans. We put together a competition and thougsands of you answered the question collectly to qualify for the prize draw. The lucky winner was Steve Grimley, who with his brother by his side joined us here at the Distillery sampling the wares and learning all there is to know about the dark arts of whisky-making. Here's what he thought...
Gordon gave us a fantastic tour explaining the various stages in the making of your wonderful whisky and gave us a better understanding of the complexity of the finished product.
Then of course came the best part, sampling the finished products in the tasting room. Now I can confirm that we did enjoy all the whiskies in the range and will indeed be recommending them to my friends and family and here is a short report on our tasting notes as we remember...
• Peter Arkle Limited Edition has a citrus fruit sweetness with a little spiciness to it and a hint of caramel.
• anCnoc 12 Year Old. Lighter but still fruity and sweet.
• anCnoc 16 Year Old was sweet and fruity but also had a spicy note that stayed on the palate.
• anCnoc 1999 Limited Edition. This was a smooth whisky which also had the fruity notes of the others in the range.
• anCnoc 22 Year Old. Now this was a much richer in texture and had more spiciness to it as well as a deeper, more rounded fruitiness with just a little hint of smokiness (by far both my and my brother's favourite from them all)
• anCnoc Rutter. Ohh.....very smoky and rich with pleasant spicy tones and sweetness... smoky finish on palate.
• anCnoc Flaughter. Again smoky but to me more understated than the Rutter although it has higher PPM. Got a hint of pears and nice sweetness on my palate with cleaner finish... quite smooth compared to the Rutter.
Overall we really enjoyed this opportunity to visit and taste your range and Gordon and Ally could not have been more welcoming and helpful, we both had a fantastic time at Knockdhu and even bought ourselves a few bottles from your range including three bottles of the 22 Year Old (our favourite indeed) and a bottle of Peter Arkle... I knew already that the Peaty Collection was being sent to me so will replace them once I have finished.
I have a few friends who enjoy the complexities of whisky that are looking forward to them arriving as I have promised them an anCnoc whisky range tasting night so I can spread the word on your fantastic range as well as being a great excuse to get together and enjoy ourselves. Once again thank you, anCnoc whisky, for your fantastic hospitality bestowed upon me and my brother as it is a day that will last long in the memory and, may I add, it has now propelled anCnoc to the top of our favourite whisky brands list.
Thanks for visiting, Steve Grimley, we're glad you had a good time and liked the whisky. Hope to see you again some day.
anCnoc