anCnoc 22 Year

Nose - Rich raisins, caramel, honey, spiced cake, lemon & orange zest, baked & fresh green apples Taste - Spicy raisins, candied ginger spice/heat, flamed orange zest, well oiled leather, spiced cake, vanilla, light bitter dark chocolate Finish - Lingering dark chocolate bitterness, hint of leather dryness, raisin sweet Score - 90/100 Final Thoughts - I really enjoyed this dram. This had a very nice balance between a sherried malt without being too cloyingly sweet and a nice bit of spice to tie everything together. The one downfall I'd have to say is that there's a light bitter aspect that lasts a bit too long that borders on cigarette/cigar ash on the tail end of the palate, but that eventually goes away. This is very well put together and is quite nice. I'd say it has more of an evening dram vibe to it though. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Yes Would I buy a bottle? - Yes NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

Poured this with a good friend who's a bourbon drinker - heck bourbon employee. We both like it, weren't blown away, and he found the nose offensive. Now that it's been opened for a while and I've let a pour breath a bit lets see. Nose - Fruity, earthy, waxy, minerally. This is hard to explain. There's a sweet note in the malt but I'm not getting to the barrel finishing. There's a certain old oak funk note here that's really making everything else hard to get to. Drop of water and ok a bit more fruits, the bottle says Christmas spices...i'd more go with baking but ok. I don't get any of the honey they claim. Taste - Ok this is a complex dram. Here I get figs and raisins and honey and spices, and leather and oak. It lingers with the California raisins singing to me from an oak platform. A lingering dusty oak/leather note. Really tastes great but the nose is off, maybe even off putting for some. This is a bottle I'll savor over the next few years. This is one to have and ponder. It isn't however a master piece or even really that special. If these notes are you, get one but I wouldn't chase it or really feel it is needed. 2.5 because the finish has a complexity I love and I might be giving it credit for the price to age. Also the color is crazy nice and it's natural! post neck pour OK the sherry is taking over this one on the nose and the taste. The spices are still there but they I guess don't bother me as much. I'm moving this to a 2.75. There's still a spice bite and I don't get OLD whisky despite 22 years.

It’s sweet and spicy. Sort of like a combination of Clynelish and Dalmore, with their fig, dark fruit, and oaky characters, then adds a dash of chili oil to it. I would say it’s quite an uniquely enjoyable whiskey.