anCnoc Peter Arkle 3rd Edition Bricks

I just happened to be in Illinois tonight, and I just happened to be visiting a friend who lived near a Binny’s outlet, and I just happened to stop in and make a little purchase on my way back to Indiana. My whisky budget is tight for the rest of the year, so I was determined to limit myself to one mid-priced bottle, which requires some serious self-discipline when visiting Binny’s.

I decided on the latest (third) Peter Arkle edition from anCnoc, even though I knew it (and the other Arkles) received good-but-not-stellar reviews from the booze pundits. Maybe it’s because I had good luck with the anCnoc 22 yo my wife gave me for our anniversary. Perhaps it’s because I liked Peter A.’s tube and bottle design. Or maybe it’s just because it fit the “within my budget and it’s something different” category.

This “Bricks” edition is a vatting of spirit matured in ex-sherry butts and ex-bourbon barrels, with the result being something that’s much sweeter and a little more complex than the other three anCnocs in my cabinet. No coloring, non-chill-filtered, and bottled at an acceptable 46% ABV. Two drams, fresh out of a new bottle, were sampled for this review. First dram neat, second with a couple of drops of water. Changes will probably occur over time, and I’ll add some updates to the comments section if and when so.

Nose: Needs to sit for a few minutes to get rid of the dusty and metallic notes. After that, the first impression is that of lemons and flowers in a pair of new shoes. Sweet, floral, and leathery, in other words. I get lemon as the main sweet component, although honey, vanilla, and some dense grape jam are strongly present. Some fresh grains as well, like a just-opened box of Chex cereal. A different sort of anCnoc nose, even as it retains that characteristic anCnoc lightness.

Palate: Nicely oily and complex, although with a few too many oddly juxtaposed sweet things going on. Cake frosting, sherry, milk chocolate, lemons, vanilla, coffee with too much sugar, and a little apple and cinnamon. It’s not bad if you don’t let it sit on the tongue for too long. The longer it sits the more sticky-sweet it becomes, like you’ve just taken one too many bites of some burnt vanilla caramel sprinkled with Sweet Tarts. With a couple of drops of water, even more vanilla emerges. It’s more one-dimensional, perhaps less interesting, but more tolerable overall.

The finish helps balance things. Peppers, cinnamon, and wood kill off the overwhelming sweetness in a hurry. Some oranges make for a nice final fadeout. Not the longest finish, but long enough to satisfy.

I’m enjoying this whisky, but I don’t think I’ll rush out to buy another bottle once I’ve drained this one. It’s certainly the most complex (if still light overall) anCnoc I’ve tried, but that complexity comes in the form of a sweetness bombardment. I think a little vatting experiment, with a few drops of something very peaty and phenolic, may be forthcoming.