The core range of anCnoc whiskies is reaching our shores in a few weeks. AnCnoc (pronounced AH-nock) is the brand name for the whisky distilled in Knockdhu distillery from the Highlands region, The distillery is owned by Inverhouse Distillers who also control Old Pulteney, Balblair  and two more far less familiar distilleries.

Since Old Pulteney stopped producing the Old Pulteney 21 (now replaced by a far more expensive 25 year old whisky), the anCnoc 24 seems like a good candidate to replace the OP 21 as the matured and affordable whisky of choice in this region.

The anCnoc 24, released back in 2015, is a combination of ex-bourbon casks and sherry-treated casks and thankfully it’s not being chill-filtered nor coloured and it’s also bottled at 46%. This is what I think we should expect as the minimum from a whisky bottle.

anCnoc 24 Year Old (46%, £116/€129,90/$129.69)

Nose: Gentle oak spices, sweet gluhwein (Mulled wine), candied and sugared orange peels, orange marmalade, leather, vanilla, honey, creamy. After a few minutes there’s more sherry influence with sweet dried fruit, nuts and fruit cake.

Palate: Spicy with pepper and a dash of ginger, citrus, dry oak spices, freshly cleaned leather belt, cream, honey and ends with more oak spices.

Finish: Medium length, getting dryer, lingering sweet citrus peels and honey and oak spices.

Thoughts: anCnoc isn’t the alpha dog at Inverhouse portfolio but quietly they produce some good liquid in this 24 year old. It’s delicious with a great combo of fresh sweetness, citrus and leather. Very tasty and very dangerously drinkable.