Knockdhu's anCnoc 12-Year-Old Review

 

anCnoc 12-Year-Old Review

 

Barcode	5010509427067 (632070100023 in the US)
Price	NIS 200-220 (£34 in the UK)
Alcohol Percentage (abv)	40% (43% in the US)
Bottle Volume (ml)	700 (750 in the US)
Cask Maturation	Refill Ex-Bourbon barrels and Re-charred Hogsheads
Chill-Filtered	Yes
Colour Added	Yes
Importers	No Import sticker or any Importer information given.
Kashrus Status	No Kashrus issues.
Kashrus certification	KF London (Not stated on the label in the UK or Israel)

 

Introduction

In my last published review (which was before my visit to Scotland in June 2024 where I got to tour Knockdhu distillery), I reviewed the excellent anCnoc Single Cask 14-Year-Old Vintage 2007 Israel Exclusive. In that review I promised a follow-up of Knockdhu’s core range anCnoc 12-Year-Old. Well, here it is.

(For an explanation of the names “Knockdhu” and “anCnoc”, please see that previous review).

AnCnoc 12 Kashrus Issues

As mentioned in my previous article on the anCnoc Single Cask 14, many (most?) online reviews of the anCnoc 12 strangely mention as a matter of fact, that 12-Year-Old core range contains some Ex-Sherry cask maturation, which has prompted questions as to why it would receive Kosher certification from KF (the London based Federation of Synagogues Kashrus organisation). I contacted the distillery manager of Knockdhu, Gordan Bruce, who stated that the reviews were simply mistaken and that the 12-Year-Old expression had always been 100% Ex-Bourbon matured. It seems to be a case of reviewers copying the mis-information of previous reviews.

Continuing the subject of misinformation online, the aging for the two other core-range expressions, the anCnoc 18 and 24 Year Olds is described as a combination of Ex-Sherry and Ex-Bourbon cask maturation. In fact, in conversation with Gordan Bruce, it turns out that both the 18-Year-Old and 24-Year-Old have been matured in Ex-Bourbon barrels for most of their maturation but receive a finish for the last 4 years in First-Fill Ex-Sherry casks. As far as sherry influence upon the flavour of the whisky (and therefore kashrus status), this is of huge significance. Many Poskim would give a hehter (be lenient) when it comes to Single Malts whose maturation is a marriage of Ex-Sherry and other casks. However, as explained by Rav Akiva Osher Padwa of the London Beth Din, most Poskim would agree that there is little room to be lenient when it comes to whisky finished in First-Fill Ex-Sherry or wine casks.

Rav Akiva Osher Padwa (with the author)

See letter of Rav Akiva Osher Padwa (in Hebrew) here

AKO Members

As regular readers will know, I do not rely on hechsherim that would not meet the minimum standards of AKO (Association of Kashrus Organisations), the umbrella group of (in my opinion) reliable kashrus Organisations whereby, if they were to apply for membership of AKO, they would not be accepted.

However, I have been reliably informed at the time of writing this, that the KF are in the process of becoming full members of AKO.

Moreover, the cRc (the Chicago Rabbinical Council) who seem (from what I can see), to tachlas manage AKO, imply that they already accept KF certification, as our anCnoc 12-Year-Old Single Malt whisky is listed as kosher with the KF certification on the official cRc Liquor list.

So, as a result of our email correspondence, Gordan Bruce invited me to come visit him at the distillery. We spent most of the day together, chatting about all things whisky whilst Gordan showed me around the distillery, including the unusual still house and traditional dunnage warehouse.

One of the many unique features of Knockdhu distillery is their rectangular worm tub. I believe that it's the only non-circular worm tub in the industry.

Why isn’t the kashrus certification stated on the label?

Knowing that the distillery’s parent company, Inver House, pay for an annual kashrus certification from KF for the 12-Year-Old as well as their heavily peated “Peatheart” expression, I asked my contact at the KF why their kosher logo does not appear on any labels of the 12-Year-Old or Peatheart either in the UK or Israel? The answer I received was that it was not up to them but was the sole decision of the parent company, Inver House.

I then asked Gordan the same question. He didn't know but promised to contact Inver House HQ and try to find out. A few days later he contacted me again with an answer. Someone at “Corporate” had decided to only include the certification symbol on the label in certain markets, although he was not given any information as to which markets.

It seems very strange to both of us that if Inver House are paying for kosher certification, that they would not print the kosher logo on all their labels? What would they have to lose by it? Moreover, if they were only including the KF symbol on the label in certain markets, why would one of those markets not be Israel?

I wrote an email to a few kosher liquor stores in New York, asking them if the KF logo appears on their labels and received a reply from a Josh Mizrahi, Sales Manager at Astor Wines, New York. He very kindly sent me two photos showing the logo.

https://www.astorwines.com/

Many thanks Josh!

Notice that the product barcode is completely different to the bottles we can get in the UK and Israel. I also noticed from the photos that Americans are lucky enough to get their anCnoc 12 bottled at 43% abv.

Talking to a graphics artist with experience in whisky label design, he explained that there are often two versions of the label: The United States with their unique volume and abv, and the rest of the world.

Cask Maturation – A New Understanding of the term “First-Fill”

Regarding cask types used for maturation, Gordon Bruce informed me via WhatsApp that the anCnoc 12 was matured in a combination of Second-Fill, Refill and “First-Fill Re-Char” casks.

I was initially puzzled as to what “First-Fill Re-Char” meant. Did it mean that they had taken fresh Ex-Bourbon barrels (seasoned with Bourbon) and charred them in Scotland before filling with new-make-spirit? The answer is no!

According to Gordan, “First-Fill Re-Char” is the term [some] distilleries use for a rejuvenated cask, which has already been used say, three times for maturing whisky and is then sent to a cooperage in Scotland where the inside of the cask is shaved back past the thickness of the old char until you get  to the toasted wood (also referred to as “De-Charred”) and then the cask is toasted and re-charred.

This cask will now act more like a charred Virgin new oak cask but nonetheless, is entered into their cask depository computer system as “First-Fill”, as after rejuvenating, the cask has not been used before to mature whisky.

In my opinion, if the term “First-Fill American Oak” or “First-Fill Bourbon cask” is printed on a whisky label, I would think that almost every whisky enthusiast will assume that this meant a fresh Ex-Bourbon barrel or hogshead sourced from a distillery in the United States, and not a rejuvenated and re-charred old cask which would then mature whisky in a similar fashion to a “Virgin Oak” cask.

I am also not sure just how widespread the practice of calling rejuvenated casks "First-Fill" is in the industry or whether it's actually limited to distilleries owned by Inver House. (That is, Knockdhu, Old Pulteney and Balblair). I do know that for example, Lagavulin distillery, owned by Diageo, the largest Scotch whisky producers in the world, refer to their shaved back, toasted, and re-charred casks as "Rejuvenated casks".

12-Year-Old packaging, artwork and Label

Label Information

Packaging

Although I initially found the minimalist packaging artwork pleasing, I began to find it was lacking personality, due to what (in my opinion), is lack of attention to detail, overuse of generic looking artwork and too much “white spice”.

There is an enormous amount of blank or white space all over the artwork packaging. Particularly between that undersized copper coloured “12”, at the top of the cylinder and the black inked “anCnoc”, printed in the middle. It just looks odd.

I consulted with a professional independent whisky label artist, and he was bothered by the small drawings which reminded him of cheap supermarket wine labels that, for example, “placed a drawing of a castle on the label to support the use of the word "Chateau" in the name”.

Because of the matt white finished cardboard material used and all that blank space, whilst sitting on the shelf waiting for someone to buy it, the tube tends to attract dirty fingerprint marks and dust stains, as well as a lot of dirty scuff marks. Consequently, the cardboard tube quickly becomes rather grubby looking.

The Cork Stopper

One of the things which really ruins the whole whisky bottle opening experience, is a cheap cork stopper. The one used for all Knockdhu’s bottlings is one of those cheap ubiquitous generic mass-produced ones with the thin plastic top. It's what you would expect from a budget or supermarket bottling but not a Single Malt at this price. Having said that, I have noticed that Loch Lomond have upgraded their packaging and you now even get a high quality cork stopper with their NAS budget core range. Kol HaKavod to Loch Lomond.

In my opinion, this is an inexcusable marketing blunder that screams of corporate stinginess and a “we really can’t be bothered” attitude.

The professional label designer who I consulted, also commented on the cork stopper. “What I noticed as well, is the use of white and yellow on the label but allowed the stopper to be dominantly black. I would have expected [that they should choose] a different colour there”.

Regarding the label text, there is very little useful information for the whisky enthusiast on there but I did find it rather amusing that on the back label, the marketing department took the trouble to describe the colour as “amber with a slight yellow hue”, disingenuously (in my opinion), implying that the colour is natural, when in fact it’s completely fake, having had E150a caramel spirit colouring added.

They also include tasting notes but again, it all looks rather lazy. Couldn’t they come up with something more creative or descriptive than “Sweet” and “fruitiness”? Then they go and raise my blood pressure by employing that incredibly annoying marketing whisky buzz-word “smooth”. Why do marketing guys insist on using this word all the time?

In conclusion, I think it needs an urgent rebranding to make the AnCnoc stand out on the shelf.

I have actually owned two bottles of anCnoc 12, one purchased in the UK and the other in Israel. Apart from the UK pink Tax sticker on the back, both bottles are identical, including barcode.

This is the bottle purchased in the UK

This is the bottle purchased in Israel

OK, now for the anCnoc 12-Year-Old Tasting notes

Appearance and Colour

I made a quick swirl and then observed the thick tears as they instantly dropped down the inside of the glass. A clear sign of 40% abv and substantial chill-filtration.

Witnessing this, I thought it would be fun to compare the effects of the abv level of this 12-Year-Old with my previous Knockdhu review, the Single Cask 2007 bottled at 51.2% abv, by using Charles MacLean’s foam test.

anCnoc 12-Year-Old

 anCnoc 14-Year-Old Single Cask Cask Strength, Non-Chill Filtered

As you can see, after shaking, the foam on the anCnoc 12 dissipates immediately, whereas the foam on the Single cask version takes around 30 seconds to die down, showing clear signs of a high alcohol level.

Colour is a fake light brown, indicative of E150a caramel colouring having been added, so the least said about that the better.

 

On the Nose

Despite being bottled at only 40% legal minimum abv, there was still a bit of an alcohol bite to it upon first opening. This however disappeared after the bottle had been open for a week.

Nosing straight, there are vague notes of citrus, yellow fruits, garden herbs, spices and polished wood. However, adding just a few drops of water (remember, not too much), this really opens the nose up, like swivelling the dial on a pair of binoculars.  Now, those vague aromas really start to come into focus.

Those general citrus notes focus to sweet lemony perfume.

There is Apricot jam, barbequed pineapple, fresh yellow grapefruit, barbequed Lemon slices in yellow custard and apple cider vinegar juice.

There is a hint of white candle wax scent. Also, some musky warehouse smells (in a good way) as well as slight whiff of smelly flowers morphing into sweet herbal notes.

Quite prevalent though, is an earthy honey in a wooden bowl aroma and something which I can only describe as a “dirty” (what some would describe as an off-note smell but actually adds to character), like Asian spices. Turmeric is the most dominant but there are also hints of Cumin, Coriander, Paprika, Garlic and black pepper. This may sound off putting to some but believe me, it is actually very pleasant and adds to the complexity of this singular Single Malt. In spite of this being their bottom of the range product, the smelling experience is really quite enjoyable and very impressive.

Interestingly, according to one of Charles MacLean's books “Whiskypedia: A Compendium of Scotch Whisky” (See pages on Knockdhu distillery), the Indian army was billeted in the Knockdhu malt barns between 1940 and 1945. One could postulate that perhaps some of these soldiers may have left a stash of curry spices behind which has influenced the whisky ever since?

https://www.glasgowlife.org.uk/museums/kelvingrove-art-gallery-and-museum/glaswegasians

Seriously though, the stills and those unique worm tubs probably have more to do with those heavy spice notes, than some Indian Curry spices left in the malt barns some 70 years ago (in my opinion).

I have come across a few single malts in my 30 plus years of whisky experience, where even a whisky bottled at 40% abv nevertheless, still gives you an incredibly complex nose. They are quite rare though. This anCnoc 12 is one of those few examples. I however, have the benefit of already knowing what anCnoc is like at cask strength (see my previous review on the anCnoc Single Cask Vintage 2007). This 12-Year-Old core-range expression still maintains that complexity even though it’s less than half the price of its Single Cask, Cask Strength integrity bottling "brother".

Tasting Experience

Despite its 40% abv and chill filtration [Ed note: how many times is he going to mention this?], the 12-Year-Old has a substantial mouth feel and body to it. First you get the sweet lemon with an undertone of grapefruit and apricots, followed by loads of Barley sugar, malt biscuits and roasted almonds. That earthy honey makes its presence felt from the very beginning until the finish.

Finish

The finish is medium to long with some lovely spices and woody notes. Those Asian spices make a showing as well and remain on the palate, mixed with that earthy honey.

 

Conclusion

This is a Single Malt which punches above its weight as regards complexity, flavour and sheer whisky sipping enjoyment value. It is, in my opinion, very un-Speyspide-ish. By that, I mean that it’s not light and floral - it has a weight to it and has enough weird off notes to keep the interest of even the most seasoned whisky enthusiast.

It is remarkably similar to the Single Cask Vintage 2007 14-Year-Old which don’t forget, costs more than double the price. The Vintage 2007 Single Cask is much more rounded. The flavours are amplified X 3. The fruits are thicker and syrupy and compared side by side, yes, the 12-Year-Old tastes a bit thin. On the other hand, at that price point, I would not have expected anything else.

It’s just a shame that Inver House don’t release an all-Ex-Bourbon Cask, integrity bottling expression bottled of the 12-Year-Old at 46% abv and non-chill filtered like its older sisters, the 18 and 24-Year-Old. However, the 18 and 24 are very different whisky profiles as they are both finished for the last four years of their lives in First-Fill Oloroso sherry (and as such, are not suitable for Orthodox Jews).

So, in conclusion, this 12-Year-Old gets my unreserved recommendation. I would say that, despite its price range, I wouldn’t personally recommend this to a novice whisky drinker. Having said this, some reviewers have commentated that this was one of the first single malts they ever tried and they loved it.