anCnoc 12 Year Old

Sampled without water in a Glencairn glass. Good strong but slim legs (think Steffi Graf).

Colour : Straw

Nose: An initial peppery smell with a faint orangeness in the background. Quite rich and pungent.

Taste: A curious mixture of sweet and spicy. Imagine vanilla ice cream with a pinch of black pepper mixed into it with a thin coating of orange sauce resting on the top. Quite complex with one or two tastes which my inexperienced palate cannot identify sadly. Very pleasant indeed.

Finish: Not overly long but well rounded and makes your tongue throb slightly but not in an unpleasant,too much alcohol type of way. The pepper and orange mixture lingers on to the very end.

When I first tasted this dram a while ago I wasn’t overly impressed. But having re-visited it several times it has definitely grown on me. I originally scored it at 75 but have since increased that considerably. When the bottle is finished, which won’t be too far in the future, I will no doubt replace it immediately and it should become a definite fixture in my cabinet.

Whilst I agree that what’s inside the bottle is the important thing, I must say that I find the bottles labelling and packaging very none descript and drab. Whilst many will appreciate the white with black lettering simplicity, I feel it makes the whisky resemble a supermarkets own brand and it looks more like a Sainsbury’s single malt or Tesco finest scotch whisky type of affair, which it definitely is not. Superfluous maybe but who cares? I used to be indecisive but now I’m not so sure. :) Cheers.

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