Two contrasting Speyside styles at already discounted prices,
plus a FREE 2019 Whisky Bible!
Strictly three days only or while stocks last.
The AnCnoc label entered the scene in 1993 and is now flourishing with a range of expressions and age statements. The ‘flagship' 12-year-old is a sweet, floral, Summery whisky that's all about easy drinking. Made at the Knockdhu distillery (a major contributor to the Haig blends), five years after DCL closed the operation, it was acquired by Inver House Distillers Ltd who reopened it and created the AnCnoc brand to avoid confusion with fellow Speysider, 'Knockando'. Knockdhu was founded in 1894 following the discovery of several springs of particularly pure water on the southern slopes of Knock Hill. When production first started, the distillery was a showpiece. Two pot stills could turn out 2500 gallons of spirit per week, motive power being supplied by a 16 horsepower steam engine. Cottages were built for the workers and their families, creating a new community around the distillery. Much has been done to modernise the buildings and machinery since, but very little has changed in the production process. Two originally designed pot stills remain, giving Knockdhu the same
"fruity, citric and honeyed flavour" as was first described almost a century ago. Maturation includes both x Bourbon and sherry casks.
"...so complex it is frightening…a more complete and confident Speyside malt you are unlikely to find." - Jim Murray
Tasting note: Pale gold. Caresses the nose with the softest of whisky scents... Almost floral, less the intensity; honey and toasty grains, some fruitiness emerging (baked apple?) Is there a whisper of peat too? Good palate concentration with spices adding presence to the vanillas and grassy malt. Late juicy burst, fading dry and light with cocoa, gentle spices and an understated fruitiness. Very pretty. At the elegant end of the Speyside spectrum. 40% Alc./Vol.
Other reviews… so complex it's frightening…a more complete and confident Speyside malt you are unlikely to find. Shimmers with everything that is great about Scotch Whisky… always a reliable dram, but this is stupendous. 94.5 points - Jim Murrays Whisky Bible
Colour: straw. Nose: I like this kind of fruitiness quite a lot. Imagine a good dose of stewed apples, topped with a honey and caramel sauce and touches of liquorice. Then it becomes more floral (dandelions) as well as obviously malty. A rather perfect all-rounder, as they say. Mouth: pretty much in line with the nose, with the same notes of apple pie, malt, barley sugar, light honey and liquorice (that gives it a faintly smoky/bitter profile). Caramel. Finish: medium, with more liquorice. Comments: it makes me think of some high-range blend. Easy and very good in my opinion.
84 points - Serge Valentin, whiskyfun.com
Glenfarclas 15YO at the best price in Australia.
Pay $150 elsewhere for this Sherried classic.
Famous as one of Speyside’s most masculine whiskies and one of Scotland's most richly Sherry-influenced expressions, Glenfarclas 15 is matured in 60% x-Sherry casks, with the remainder x-Bourbon, but with a difference. The latter barrels are shaved back in order to minimise their flavour input, putting the focus almost completely on the Sherry. Bottled at 46%, the result is a whisky that just about anyone could love. Jim Murray describes this as one of Scotland’s most sublime malts with a rating of 95 points, amongst the highest he awards (see his review below).
Note: Our rating for this whisky was from a sample bottle that had been opened for some time. We would anticipate a fresh bottle to be even better.
Other reviews... Nose: 23 - Such is the intensity if the fruit and sugar-rich barley, there is an element of medium ester Jamaican pot still rum to this, a feeling intensified by an orangey-oak influence that seems greater than 15 years. The top shelf sherry, though, is of a classical type rarely found these days, though common 30 years ago; Taste: 24 - Succulent and stupendous. barley sugar shows first, then a sherry input that borders on intense but dissipates as the spicy oak digs in; Finish: 24 - long, chewy, a tad oily and fades with a wonderful coffee- vanilla combination and a late surge of something bourbony; Balance: 24 - Eureka!!! The 15yo back to how i can remember it in the past. Some of you may have been scared away by some less than impressive recent bottlings. its safe to come back because now it has been returned to its position as one of Scotlands most sublime malts. The quality of the sherry is astonishing; its interaction with the barley is a wonderous joy. Go find and get...46% Alc.Vol. - Jim Murray's Whisky Bible
