AnCnoc 12 Year Old

Todays' tasting is the AnCnoc 12 Year old. This is another Speysider from the Knocdhu distillery. The reason the whisky is called Ancnoc instead of Knockdhu is to alleviate confusion with another nearby distillery called Knockando. AnCnoc means "the Hill" in Gaelic. This distillery is located in the village of Knock in Aberdeenshire. This is of interest to me because my mum is from the town of Banchory which is also in Aberdeenshire. Having looked on a map (Google Earth) Banchory does not appear to be too close to the village of Knock; all the same there is a sense of my own history in this post. Interesting choice since a desire to return to Scotland and my mums town has been on my mind of late.

As a musical accompaniment I decided to go with a Jazz. It seems that Jazz cannot go wrong with these pairings. Tonights' album is John Coltranes' - Blue Train. This album represents some of the finest Jazz of its time and possibly ever. Whether you are just wanting to rest up and unwind or really absorb the work this is an album that fits just about any occasion. It is so beautiful an album that it is conceivable that it will not only accompany the dram nicely but give it an unfair enhancement. We will see what (if any) effect Mr. Coltranes' magic can have on this sample.

Nose: Woody comes to mind at first. It reminds me of a woven basket. There is a delightful sweetness that seems to envelop a herbaciousness. Like honey coating fresh cut grass. There are also notes of apple and a distant hint of vanilla.

Palate: Grain and grassy notes are noticed first this soon leads to vanilla and spice as well as honey. Delightful.

Finish: The finish is long and smooth. I was left with those grassy herbal notes, mint came to mind at this point.    

Overall a great dram. By all accounts and reviews that I have looked at I am not alone so it is safe to believe that although awesome Coltrane did not "make" this dram. The pairing was however a good one. I am fairly convinced that Jazz and blues work well with whisky. Bluegrass and folk also work well.

Until next time... Goodnight