Tastes

This is beautiful. An absolute stunner. The nose is one of the best I’ve ever smelled. If you can believe it, coming from a big Islay malt, it is is so incredibly creamy and rich. Once you acclimatize to the campfire peat, you are left with the most delicious smelling vanilla custard and some light citrus, like a lemon custard pie. I was blown away; nothing like the 16 or 8. The creamy nature follows through in the palate. It is not delicate because of the abv, but it is creamy, oily, and mouth coating. The citrus is more pronounced and most definitely lemon now. The peat comes back on the finish, which is long, rich, luxurious. Absolutely one of my favourite drams ever.

This is a nice, juicy dram that you really don’t have to think too much about to enjoy. The nose is full of juicy raisins and stone fruit. There’s a huge vanilla and custard backbone. Little toasted almond. Some faint nutmeg. Palate like reading a funny children’s book. Simple, easy to understand, but still enjoyable time and again. It was really creamy vanilla and juicy sherry notes. I always get a nice mouthfeel from Glenrothes. Finish was short and to the point. Dried red berries, vanilla, and some oak. This dram was practically refreshing. If you’re looking for a sherry-bomb, or something to spend time dissecting, look elsewhere. This was simple and straightforward, but an enjoyable dram all the same.

I didn’t have high expectations for this bottle, but was pleasantly surprised. It has the backbone of a nice highland malt. I think it is really let down by its presentations. Everything was too quiet, too muted. On the nose was honey, heather, and orchard fruit. Palate was about the same. And the finish, well what finish? Royal Lochnagar would be a thoroughly ideal conversation whisky if it was $50 CAD. Unfortunately, it goes for more than double that where I live. If this was a higher ABV, maybe un-chill filtered it would be enjoyable. A competent whisky, but extremely overpriced for its presentation.

This is a weird one for me. I have a 200ml taster bottle from a sample pack that came with an Islay Barley and an Organic. As soon as I poured this one, the initial smell I was picking up in the nose was a big, dusty bag of grains. It honestly smelled like if you’ve ever opened up a burlap sack of barley or lentils. It took me right back to the farm. Dusty and earthy. Initially, on the palate that earthiness came through strong. It reminded me, dare I say, of dry manure in a field; but not in a gross way...but also not in an enjoyable way. More of a, “Huh...never tasted that before.” I scoured the internet for a review that had the same tasting notes, but couldn’t find one, so it may be just me. After 10 minutes in the glass, those dusty, farmyard notes fade dramatically to the background and a sweeter dram emerges. Barley sugar and orange in the nose. Little bit of dust remains. On the palate, sweet citrus, some cereals, and custard. Like others have mentioned; it’s a bit rough around the edges. It does do a pretty good job of changing with time in the glass, but, I’d take the Classic Laddie over this. I’m a big Bruichladdich fanboy, but I’m glad that I have a 200ml sample bottle of this and didn’t sink $100 CAD into a full bottle. I’m glad I tried it; to me, it was engaging because of those weird farmyard notes, but it’s not a Bruichladdich limited release that I will miss when it’s gone like the Laddie 10 or the Organic 2003. I’d still say to grab a dram if you can. 3.5 stars - 84/100 Edit: after a few weeks in the bottle it really came into its own. Nice complexity now. Rough edges gone. Changes character so much with time in the glass. 4 stars 88/100

First dram: it’s good. Nose was pretty quiet as it’s a new bottle. Taste was full and creamy, then peat, then fruity, floral. Good finish with a full body and decent peat. It’s gurd. This could be my favourite. It has a beautifully balanced nose. A gentle peat, floral, fruit, creamy toffee. It quite reminds me of a sweet moscato. The palate is just as good. Quiet peat on the entry, which gets quickly replaced by a juicy character. Pears, white grapes, juicy green apple. It’s like a watermelon Jolly Rancher. Waxy, green apple finish. Unbelievably good. I rarely enjoy this because it saddens me to see the fill level retreating. Last dram ???? First, a slight smoke, like the remnants of last night’s fire. Then you start to get waxy lemon on the nose. Little bit of melon. Some sweet, fruity jolly rancher. On the palate, smoke, then some jolly rancher fruit. Like melon. Waxy still. Black licorice. Smoke. Finish it nice. Minty. Smoke. Still that sweet melon. And still yet, that waxy character from the Clynelish. Still my favourite dram. Crushed to see it go. An aptly named whisky. 94/100

AnCnoc 12 is like The Simpsons. It is an everyday dram with enough going on that it doesn’t get boring. You can watch it again and again and again until you know all the words to Mr. Plow and still research that episode and enjoy it. This AnCnoc is such a nice dram. I get cereals, earth, and a whole lotta citrus in the nose. On the palette, there’s a beautiful salinity, then waves of waxy citrus, then a little bit of a menthol or liquorice lift at the end. The finish is medium-long with the black liquorice dominating the beginning then fading to a chewy tobacco. Beautiful dram. Unbeatable value. I highly recommend it. 90/100 Edit - I was debating whether to replace this bottle with another AnCnoc 12 or to have another go with OP 12; a bottle that I had thoroughly enjoyed the last time I had it. I eventually went with the OP. I chose wrong. AnCnoc 12 > OP 12

A gorgeous, rich amber in the glass. This dram looks so classy sitting on my table; perhaps too classy for me. I’ma taste it anyways! Vanilla, toffee, and spices on the nose. Spices like chai tea or those winter spice beers. Cinnamon, nutmeg, clove. I think I get a hint of citrus in there somewhere. Little char-smoke too. This dude dances on the tongue. Same spices, sweet, dark toffee. Citrus definitely on the palate. A nice backbone of smokiness as well. The finish is noice, but not as long as I would expect. Pepper, drying spice like clove, and the last thing to go is smoke. Like I smoked a cigarette 30 minutes ago. Very noice. A big boy. It’s like a good buddy you haven’t seen in a while. You’re excited to see him, and the first thing he does is punch you in the arm super hard. Then you have a laugh about it.

Nose starts off with a slight smokiness, then butterscotch, brine, vanilla cream, and a bit of lemon. Palate has a oak spiciness, lemon, butterscotch, dark fruits, and malt to end. Finish is sweet, salty, and smoky. There are some sherry notes as well.