Official Bottling| 46% ABV

As Vintage Releases Have Become An Oddity For Inver House, Should We Perhaps Embrace These Celebrations Of Batch Variation A Bit More?

Every distillery needs its heroes, just like every distillery needs its workhorses and foot soldiers. For every Billy Walker, Mickey Heads or David Stewart there are many unsung heroes working hard, sometimes completely anonymously, putting in their skills, experience and knowledge to help create something quite special. 

The same rule also applies to a lot of the products they are part of. For every premium expression, limited edition or anniversary bottle that gets released, there are often several others from the same distillery that hardly get a mention. Unless you’re working for the marketing department at Macallan, where they can’t as much as flush a toilet without announcing it with a six digit marketing campaign, most distilleries are careful to pick their battles when it comes to rolling out the red carpet for a new limited release.

I feel this is a wise choice, as there is such a thing as overload. With more than 130 operational distilleries across Scotland, who, apart from their core ranges also have a wide variety of limited expressions on their books, it seems there’s something new and shiny being released every other day – something that taps into our FOMO. It’s impossible to keep track of everything that’s going on, so a distillery constantly shouting and screaming for attention might find itself being ignored by whisky drinkers as they disengage due to market oversaturation. And if they’re lucky or smart or a bit of both, many distilleries will find the online whisky community doing a lot of the work for them through word of mouth, without any need for official marketing.

It’s what we tend to refer to as an inner circle thing, but seeing how the interest in whisky is spreading, it’s now become a very big circle indeed. Not that I’m complaining, because there’s plenty of whisky available to suit every preference and flavour profile. If any proof were needed, just ask any whisky fan their opinions on the likes of Glen Scotia Victoriana, Glencadam 15, the newer bottles of Glenturret 12 or anCnoc 24.

That last reference is a slightly obvious segue into today’s dram from the Knockdhu distillery. A lot of the whisky they release under the anCnoc banner still finds itself a bit under the radar, with owners Inver House seemingly focusing most of their attention on putting Balblair and Old Pulteney in the spotlight. This means Knockdhu, Speyburn and Balmenach are playing second fiddle. From an enthusiast’s point of view, selfish as that may be, this suits us rather nicely, as that pretty much guarantees not only availability, but affordability as well.

Review

Matured in first-fill Spanish Oak and ex-American bourbon casks, 7920 bottles
£45-£50

I think Knockdhu are playing their cards right. Their core range consists of just three expressions, from the entry level 12 year old, through to the 18 and 24 year olds. With a modest yet well-chosen variety in their core range, there’s plenty of room for limited releases such as travel retail bottlings, peated expressions and their selection of vintages. 

While many still lament the demise of Balblair’s much-loved vintage releases, at least Inver House has given  us reason to celebrate, as they allow an age-stated core range and vintages to coexist with anCnoc. 

There’s a lot to be said for both of these approaches, I think. Consistency in core range releases means you can pretty much bank on it that a certain whisky will bring you a similar flavour profile time and time again. But it can be tricky, not only because there’s always the chance of not being able to fully match the standard you as a distillery at one point set. It also means you’ll need quite some depth of stock when it comes to casks maturing in your warehouses. 

It’s almost guaranteed there will be some casks that simply won’t fit the bill when creating the core range expressions – not that the liquid inside is of inferior quality, just that it doesn’t work in the bigger picture of recreating a consistent product. Instead, you find other uses for it – sell it on to an independent bottler, or come up with a simple yet brilliant concept like vintage releases. 

To the consumer, it’s probably the more adventurous way to go when trying what a distillery has to offer, but it can also help you in developing a deeper understanding and appreciation of a distillery as you discover the small differences, nuances and oddities they can bring to the table.

Nose

Honey and soft vanilla, as is to be expected from those bourbon casks. It quickly becomes more interesting though, with notes of floral and heather turning quite herbaceous (parsley) going almost mineral, with a sweet, slightly salt and pepper touch to it. A suggestion more than an actual note of corn dust, toffee apples, pear drops and, after adding a drop of water, some vanilla essence with an oily sensation to it.

Palate

Mild spices at first with a grainy touch to it. A soft salinity turns more mineral again, which in turn develops further towards a soft pepper note. Underneath there’s that herbal-floral note covering the base notes on which this builds. A slight, pleasant bitterness shines through after adding a few drops of water, which contributes nicely to its character. The body is fairly light with a dry mouthfeel although coming into the finish, it brings out a warm note where spices linger on.

The Dregs

I’m not at all sure what the ratio of Spanish oak and ex-bourbon casks in this batch were, but it’s interesting to see how those bourbon casks stand their ground. In most cases it tends to be the other way round. All too often the combination of bourbon and sherry casks result in a rather generic fruity sweetness added on top of those vanilla and honey notes, but here it pans out really nice. It’s balanced, if a bit delicate, while those heather and mineral notes add a pleasant counterweight and add some depth and character. It’s similarly aged to the anCnoc 12 year old and I do feel the extra money you’d be paying for this is worth it as you’re getting a more natural presentation at higher ABV, and quite a bit more in terms of flavour too. Easy drinking, interesting and enjoyable. Sometimes that’s really all I can wish for.

Score: 6/10

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