ancnoc

anCnoc (pronounced a-nock) means “the hill”, which is entirely appropriate considering that the Knockdhu distillery is built on a hill. Founded in 1893 by John Morrison and conveniently near the Banff rail line, it also is an ideal location due the rich bounty of barley and peat. It is peat that makes its presence known in these two new whiskies. Both are named for types of spades used in cutting and forming peat blocks used in malting. A Flaughter spade is used to remove the topmost and more intense peat. The Rutter spade is then used to cut the peat to size and separate the blocks.

Knockdhu has a broad range of whiskies, but these were the two sent for review.

anCnoc Rutter (92 proof)
Visual: Very pale gold.
Nose: A good deal of smoke on the nose with creosote, bonfire and smouldering peat.
Taste: Lightly sweet with a modest amount of smokey flavor. Certainly a bit of branch water will open this up and bring out some more lemon citrus and caramel. But, it’s certainly fine on its own as a bracing Scotch.
Finish: Quite long with a lot of lingering sweetness and a penumbra of peat smoke.
Overall: Very nice and extremely well-balanced.
GSN Rating: A-

anCnoc Flaughter (92 proof)
Visual: Very pale gold.
Nose: Lots of thick and intense smoke. The malt nose stays in the background.
Taste: A deeply rich and sweeter whisky than the Rutter. The smoke is slightly more prominent on the palate, but is by no means distracting from the flavor of the distillate.
Finish: More sweetness from the malted barley comes through than smokiness. However, both of them see-saw back and forth as time goes on.
Overall: A somewhat sweeter and viscous Scotch than the Rutter, but obviously siblings.
GSN Rating: A-

For more information go to: AnCnoc

Pernod Ricard’s Chivas Brothers unit has introduced The Diamond Tribute—a new, permanent addition to its ultra-premium Royal Salute Scotch whisky brand. Rolling out globally in July, The Diamond Tribute will be sold in Travel Retail at around $270. The Diamond Tribute is a blend of rare whiskies from Strathisla in the Highlands among other distilleries. Its release is timed to mark the 60th anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

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William Grant & Sons’ Glenfiddich single malt Scotch is introducing the 2013 edition of its Cask of Dreams series of whiskies this month. Cask of Dreams 2013 contains a selection of Glenfiddich whiskies aged in American oak barrels, with the youngest among them being 14 years old. Following selection, the whiskies were decanted into virgin American oak barrels to impart “an intense and powerful vanilla sweetness.” Glenfiddich Cask of Dreams 2013, of which only 6,650 bottles have been made available to the U.S., retails at $99 a bottle.

Ancram, New York-based Hillrock Estate Distillery is launching two new products this month—Hillrock Estate Distillery Single Malt Whiskey and George Washington’s Rye Whiskey. Hillrock’s new single malt is 48.2%-abv and retails at $125 a 750-ml. bottle. Made from organic barley grown on the estate, the new whiskey is an unpeated malt (Hillrock says peated whiskies may follow in the future). George Washington’s Rye is a pot-distilled rye produced at Hillrock under Washington’s original recipe by Mount Vernon master distiller Dave Pickerell. An unaged rye, the new offering is 43%-abv and retails at $70 a 375-ml.

This month, Russian Standard USA is launching Green Mark and Zubrowka in the U.S. market. Zubrowka is actually transitioning from Remy Cointreau USA to the Russian Standard portfolio, while Green Mark is making its full-fledged debut. Green Mark will retail at $12.99 a 750-ml in the U.S., competing in the mid-premium segment, which saw overall growth of more than 12% in 2012. Zubrowka, marketed as ZU in the United States, will compete in the premium flavored vodka segment, retailing at $24.99 a 750-ml. While ZU will have strong off-premise distribution, it also plans a major effort in the mixology community, where it already has a following.

Brown-Forman’s Canadian Mist blended Canadian whisky brand is officially launching its new Mist Flavors range in the U.S. Rolling out this month, the Mist Flavors lineup includes Peach Mist, Cinnamon Mist and Maple Mist expressions. Each 70-proof entry is made with a blend of Canadian Mist’s core offering and a proprietary flavored liqueur. Initially available in 14 select markets, the trio will be offered in 50-ml. and 750-ml. formats, priced at around $9.99 a 750-ml.

International Beverage’s AnCnoc single malt Scotch brand has unveiled the latest entry in its limited edition Peter Arkle series, “Bricks.” Inspired by the brick walls of AnCnoc’s Knockdhu Distillery, Bricks is characterized by honey and lemon flavors, as well as notes of citrus, sherry and dark chocolate. The new offering will launch at specialty retail outlets starting next month. Just 1,000 cases will be available globally. Bricks marks the third expression in the Arkle range, which features labels illustrated by artist Peter Arkle.