anCnoc sheds light on its Peaty side

At a launch event in Glasgow on Wednesday the 26th  of March anCnoc Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky unveiled exciting and unexpected additions to its award winning range. Peated whiskies from Knockdhu Distillery, named Rutter, Flaughter and Tushkar; were presented to the media, whisky experts and members of the wider anCnoc community. The release of the Peaty Collection marks the beginning of a new chapter in the history of the Distillery and is set to delight whisky enthusiasts around the world with a heavier, darker side of the iconic Highland spirit.

Project Manager Stephanie Bridge commented on the prospect of the anCnoc Peaty Collection being a window to the world of smoky whisky for drinkers who previously chose to drink unpeated malts:

“Rutter and our other new Limited Edition peated single malts will form an exciting collection to sit alongside our core anCnoc expressions, offering drinkers a new and perhaps a first experience of peated whisky. These malts have all the exceptional qualities of anCnoc but with a depth and smokiness that will be appealing both to peat aficionados and to drinkers of lighter malts with an interest in finding a peated malt whisky that they understand and enjoy. We’re on a mission to bring our very modern take on the world of peated whisky to our drinkers all over the world and to entice customers to experience this new side of anCnoc.”

The Whisky

While in the early days of Knockdhu’s operation peat was embraced as fuel used for firing stills and drying malted barley, technological advancements changed the way whisky was made in the village of Knock and allowed more gentle, unpeated character of the spirit to be developed over decades. But since early 21st  century peated malt has been used at Knockdhu once again, this time for a few months of the year only, to produce whisky which pays homage to anCnoc’s heritage and sheds light on the darker side of one of Scotland’s most flavoursome distillates. Excellent maturation performance, high flavour concentration and a rare propensity to retain a lot of the distillery style while delivering an uncompromising peaty dimension has led the company to the decision to release this unusual guise of anCnoc as the Peaty Collection.

The whisky is presented in green glass to emphasise its distinctly different character and the three expressions unveiled at the Glasgow launch are named after traditional peat-cutting tools. Uniquely, these three exciting releases, as well as any future additions to the Collection, carry a phenol content statement expressed in parts per million phenols (ppm) allowing the drinkers to make informed decisions and choose the level of smokiness most suited to their palate.

anCnoc Rutter, peated to 11 ppm phenol and matured in American oak hogsheads, is the lightest and freshest of the three releases with notes of delicate spices, juicy pineapples, pear drops and a gentle whiff of vanilla delivering anCnoc’s trademark character under a veil or warming smoke.

anCnoc Flaughter features 14.8 ppm phenol and matured in a selection of American oak casks. A richer, more dominant peat character leads the flavour profile with notes of creamy vanilla, sticky toffee and green apple freshness providing balance. 

anCnoc Tushkar is the most peaty of the three with a phenol content of 15 ppm. Matured in 1st refill American ex-bourbon barrels it offers a great balance between intense smokiness and the rich and rewarding influence of very active oak. Spicy vanilla heart is wrapped in overtones of orange peel, apples and cut flowers.  anCnoc Tushkar is available exclusively in Sweden.

Whisky expert and one of the most revered writers on the subject, Charles Maclean, commented:

“The difference between these three malts is subtle, but apparent. Their overall flavour – i.e. aroma and taste –is nicely balanced, fresh and breezy; their smokiness subtle and understated, while their cheerful simplicity makes them very ‘more-ish’ and easy to drink.”

All anCnoc Peaty Collection expressions are bottled at 46% ABV, non chill-filtered and presented at their natural colour. The RRP for Rutter and Flaughter is £52 in the UK and the Tushkar will retail for 449SEK in Sweden.