Thanks to /u/ScotchGuy_To for the sample.
anCnoc and I are basically like that one guy I used to play DnD with in University. We hung out, were cool, I didn’t have issues with him, and that was fine. Hell he even gave me comics to keep because he was done with them. Good guy.
Also he had a friend who once dragged a roommate of mine into his car and drove her home drunk and also he dated another ex-roommate of mine who made that living situation not-so-great during uni. So not such a good guy.
That’s anCnoc. The good (older releases and the previous 16-year-old standard) and the bad (almost every time they’ve attempted to peat something) and the ugly (nothing here, it’s just a joke based on a famous film name).
So when Co-Op Wine Spirits Beer announced they were getting anCnoc 14 2006 Single Cask Exclusive I wondered if there was an ex hanging around my super cool homebrewed mountain campaign games or if I was getting more comics and hanging with a guy who was fun to drink with.
Some friends were excited, others were not. It looks to be sherry aged, which is good, and it’s cask strength, which is better.
So did it turn out good or not so good? Let’s see, shall we?
Price: $170 CAD
Region: Highland
Vintage: 2006
Bottled: 2020
Cask number: 212
Number of bottles: 546
Bottled for Co-Op Wine Spirits Beer
Abv: 59.9%
Colour: 10R 4/12
Nose: Raisin, ginger, lemongrass, herbes de provence, mango, almond
Strong herbal, heat, and acidic flavours. Very fruity with time. I’d be lying if I said this was more sherry than whisky, however the herbal notes and tropical notes are showing that the anCnoc spirit can hold its own.
Taste: Raspberry jam, cloves, cinnamon, peach pie
More fruit! Cooked fruit, to be specific, aka more sugar, less acidity, and that spells “I’m happy” in my world. Also it spells “diabetes in your future” and “enjoy this time while you can” but I’m working on that and have actually lost weight!
Oh, and there’s some spice and butter and the anCnoc hasn’t been lost in a wet cask. That’s good too.
Finish: Cloves, cherry, grape, earth, allspice
Gets a bit simple at the end. Also has a bit too much fruit and not enough spice here. The fun aspects that were elevating this dram before (the herbs, the butter, the jamminess, the nuttiness) are gone and there’s only “sad jam”, aka whatever you buy from the store (let’s be honest, store jam is alright but it really only shines in uncrustables alone).
Conclusion: Very fruity, very sherried dram. Gets lost near the end. There’s some earth there trying to diversify but it’s basically a first year finance student at the cocaine bar for the first time.
That said, the nose and taste are lovely. Yes, it most likely was a cask so wet it makes Onlyfans look like the Sahara, however the spirit holds up. It’s nice to have something in cask strength from anCnoc.
So it’s comics this time, but I’m still a tad wary of anCnoc. Guess I’ll have to keep letting it hang around every-so-often.
81/100
Scotch review #1455, Highland review #240, Whisky Network review #2150
tomoderawhisky.ca 