As far as whisky distilleries go, anCnoc (pronounced ‘a-nock’) is both underdog and cult favourite. We got our hands on ‘Blas’ (‘taste’) – their new, limited run collaboration with BBC presenter/creative director/fashion designer/Renaissance Man Patrick Grant. It’s got ‘taste’ alright, but will you like it? That depends how much you like the heavy stuff!
Verdict: This is an…assertive dram, not one for beginners but just fantastic if you like them weighty and higher strength.
Rating
Price
£50.00
In A Nutshell
Heavy hitting citrus and vanilla sulphur butter concoction for your welcoming mouth. And oh so collectable! (probably/eventually/maybe)
Get Blas(ted) fam
Straight outta Knockdhu. anCnoc Blas is a collaboration between BBC presenter/creative director/fashion designer Patrick Grant and venerable/legendary Highland based distillery anCnoc (FYI anCnoc is pronounced ‘anock’ and ‘Blas’ is the Gaelic for ‘taste’).
A limited edition bottled at TUFF 54% ABV, this whisky retails around £50 and the designs for the packaging took over a year to come to fruition; members of the public were invited to submit their ideas over social media to inspire Patrick, and as I understand it, he spent quite some time in Knock and at the distillery getting familiar with the whisky, people and landscape. Which sounds like a fun few months or whatnot :3
More about Patrick and anCnoc. For those who don’t know, Patrick is the creative director at tailor Norton & Sons (based on Saville Row no less). He does the same at luxury menswear label E Tautz, and got a bit famous lately when he started judging on BBC2’s The Great Sewing Bee (and when did sewing become so popular again? I think I missed the boat on that).
As for anCnoc, they have been doing their thing since 1894 – in the picturesque town of Knock, Aberdeenshire. Probably not a household name, nevertheless, anCnoc have a substantial cult following in the whisky community – their ‘Cutter’ expression went down very well with the whisky authority that is Jim Murray (96.5 out of 100 in the Whisky Bible 2016 I believe?).
We Drink It, Stuff Happens
Initial Impression
A light gold colour (not what I expected) and not nearly as much ‘heat’ coming off as you may anticipate for something that is 54% alcohol by volume!
Nose
Honey, raisins and sultanas steeped in booze. Plus apricot, sweet citrus, vanilla – it’s rounded, and sultry. Leave it a while and there’s definitely something buttery and creamy sitting on the vanilla. It reminds me of walnut.
Toffee, definitely toffee and maybe dark chocolate. It’s also quite sulphurous and rubbery which contributes a thick dull contrast to the sharp sweet citrus things. Citrus and vanilla sulphur butter :3
Palette
Hits the palette and immediately you get fiery sweet heat. Lots of heat on it. The nose was… deceptive. The nose is a lie. This is as strong as the ABV suggests.
It is quite hard to hold on your tongue but it will reward you if you do. Reward you with all the sultanas and raisins and christmas cake hinted at on the nose, all luxuriating beside some fiery notes – iodine, white spirit, nail varnish remover. This is definitely a whisky for people who already like whisky.
It’s one of those whiskies that takes a little while to acclimatise to but when you do, it opens up into delicious dark chocolate citrus, marmalade, lemongrass, raisins and sultanas, apricot. And at this strength you must be a little wary…
Finish
Warm, citrussy and substantial – though not as long as you would expect for something so strong. A dangerous combination of high ABV and a very ‘non cloying’ finish means you’ve got to watch this one.
The searing citrus will become a warm, soothing citrus. i feel like it could do good things for my cough but realistically that is not going to be the case, quite the opposite :3. Give it a little time to cool on your tongue and the sulphur has become delicious dark chocolate cocoa, citrus, dried apricot and apples stewed in allspice. TREMENDOUS.
The Verdict
A delightful, and unashamedly weighty whisky that, in my humble opinion, costs a bit too much for what it delivers. One for the serious buyers. Considering Patrick Grant’s limited edition bottle design, this could quite possibly become a collector’s item.
Naturally I’ve already enjoyed too much of mine to ‘collect’ it and I regret nothing whatsoever. Life is short – drink your collectables whilst you can. [Ed: it is best not to construe anything Jack says as advice…]