anCnoc Flaughter

This is a sweet peat, so the theme of this dram is going to be "Sweet Leaf" by Black Sabbath. The nose also has some dark berry fruit in there with some distant and faint dark chocolate mint. On the palate, it's a flood of ash along with a lemon bar, and oil. Heavy mouth coat, and a long smoky finish, but I think it could be better if something else was there for balance, whether it be more sweet or briny notes. Just a couple drops of water did not kill the peat and took a little of the twang down. I am thinking 3.25 on this, and thanks to Lee for the sample.

Stop number 39 on the SDT is Knockdhu, better known as anCnoc. Flaughter is a NAS expression from this Highland distillery that gets its name from a type of spade shovel. Flaughter is peated to a level of 14.8 ppm. It is bottled at 46% ABV, is non chill filtered and is a natural color of pale straw. The nose is peaty and earthy. A fair amount of sea salt and grilled lemons appear soon after you get acclimated to the peat. Some light plum and apricot notes. It's not very complex and shows a good bit of youth. A low level of vanilla, green grapes and some maritime notes. The palate starts off with a medium level of peat. Not too intense at 14.8 ppm, but it is adamant about its peatiness. Earthy, brine/sea salt. A little fruity, but not too sweet. I had a hard time trying to discern individual fruit flavors, just a general fruitiness. It ends a bit ashy with citrus. Medium light bodied. Creamy and a little oily. Mouthwatering and it coats your mouth in a way that is a little unusual, but not in a bad way. Medium long finish, mostly just peat smoke and ashes. I was hoping for much more out of this one. The packaging is aesthetically appealing and gave the expectation that something special was inside. It's not bad, but it just didn't wow me. It's too one dimensional. For the price of $65 it is very much not worth the price of admission. I could see enjoying this once in a while when you want something peated that you can sip without thinking too much about it, but other than that it's not worth buying a full bottle. Thanks to Lee for the sample. 3.25 Cheers 🥃

Thanks to my friend Lee, as part of our Scottish distillery sampling team, I got to try this peaty Highlander. Till this evening, I don't think I ever even heard of Ancnoc ( how the hell do you pronounce that? A-Knock?). This is a mini-me version of a young Caol Ila, minus any salinity or briny elements. Peat hits you right away, with a hefty dose of citrus, and a short sharp finish with a bit of earthy aftertaste. Not bad. This is something I'd like to have on a cold rainy night. It may not be earth shattering, but it's a solid middle of the pack peaty whisky. Thanks Lee!

Nice sweet peat bricks initially on the nose. Heather is woven in tightly and there's a lasting aroma of saline. The palate is rich with peat and ocean minerals. Things dry out with soot smoke. The finish is similar to the mid-palate with some lingering dried chiles. It's hard to know this is from Knockdhu other than its creamy texture. Add some water to draw out the finish and lighten the soot. Overall, this is nice and satisfies a need for peat, but it lacks depth.