“Guilty Pleasure”
Country: Scotland
Region: Highland (Eastern)
Brand: anCnoc Cutter (Limited Peated Edition 20.5 ppm)
Type: Single Malt Whisky
Distilled at: Knockdhu
Distilled at: Knockdhu
Age: NAS
ABV: 46%
Chill-Filtration: No
Whisky Review # 576
Buying Advice:😐 Interesting alternative for Peat lovers. Stay away if you're not into Young Peated Whisky. Perhaps a little too expensive!
Rating: 85.5
Chill-Filtration: No
Whisky Review # 576
Buying Advice:😐 Interesting alternative for Peat lovers. Stay away if you're not into Young Peated Whisky. Perhaps a little too expensive!
Colour: Pale Straw/White Wine (Natural Colour)
Nose: The Peat Aroma is surprisingly coastal for a peated Highlander. I find Iodine, Campfire Smoke, Dusty Earth, light Soot and Tar, Cigar Ashes, Salted Meat on the BBQ, Sweet Malted Cereals, slightly Burnt Toast, Toffee, light Cocoa Powder, Mocca, Salted Nuts, light Vanilla, light Heather-Honey, Demerara Sugar, Charred Oak, Lemon Peel, Herbs (Mint), a little Dark Chocolate and some Mineral/Metallic notes. The Alcohol is not fully integrated and comes across as a little aggressive. There are some Fruity notes but they are hidden under a screen of Peat. Give the Cutter some time in the glass and you will find some Nectarine. On the Nose the Cutter is not unpleasant but the Peaty Aromas are very dominant and the Alcohol is a little harsh. The Cutter could have done with some more time in the cask, that's for sure.
Palate: Quite Young, a little Edgy but still quite interesting. I find Dusty Earth, Campfire Smoke, Cigar Ashes, Soot and Tar, Iodine, Toasted Cereals, slightly Burnt Toast, Salted Nuts, Dried Herbs, Leather, Apple Juice or Cider, Nectarine, light Vanilla, Citrus Peel, Lemon-Pepper, Aniseed, Espresso and Dark Chocolate.
Finish: Quite Long, Peaty, Spicy and Fruity with Dusty Peat, Campfire Smoke, Cigar Ashes, Iodine, Soot and Tar, slightly Burnt Toast, Bread Dough, Toasted Cereals, Apple, Pear, Lemon - and Orange Peel, Pepper, Cardamom, Cinnamon, Aniseed, Salted Nuts, Grapefruit Juice, Leather, Espresso and Dark Chocolate. This is my favourite part of the Cutter.
I added a little Water and the Nose becomes quite Floral while the Peat and Smoke retreat. Quite Fruity and a little Floral as well on the Palate. The Finish is a bit on the Short Side this way. Still, you can carefully experiment with a couple of drops.
Rating: 85.5
Nose: 21 - Taste: 21 - Finish: 22 - Overall: 21.5
General Remarks: The Knockdhu distillery was constructed in 1893 by DCL. It closed 90 years later in 1983 but was acquired in 1988 by Inver House Distillers Ltd. Production started again in 1989. Most of the whisky is used in blends like Haig, Hankey Bannister and Pinwhinnie. In 1993 Knockdhu started to market its Single Malt under the name anCnoc. They did this to avoid confusion with the Knockando distillery in Speyside. The core range consists of the 12, 18 and 24 Years. In 2014 some Limited Peated Editions were launched under the names of Rutter, Laughter, Tushkar and Cutter, all of them tools used in the extraction of Peat. This peated range was replaced in 2015/2016 by Rascan, Peatlands and Stack. The anCnoc Cutter I'm reviewing today was the peatiest whisky of the 4 released in 2014 with 20.5 ppm, measured over the finished Malt. It matured in Ex-Bourbon casks. It is still available in places at an average price of around 55 US Dollars (November 2016).
Drinking Experience Neat: Good
Drinking Experience Neat: Good
Conclusion: I kinda liked the Cutter although I probably shouldn't have. It's a Young Whisky, it's still rather immature and the Peaty Aromas and Flavours are quite dominant while the Alcohol is noticeable. But somehow there's just enough Fruit and Spices to keep things interesting. The Finish is really long considering the relatively short maturation. It's also surprisingly Briny and Coastal for a non Islay Whisky and in a Blind Tasting the Cutter could have been easily identified as a young Islay Malt. It's not very cheap for a NAS whisky but I have to admit that the people at Knockdhu did a decent job here. I feel that many of you might disagree with me on the Cutter as it's easy to consider it to be just a Young, Peaty NAS whisky. But take your time with this one as I did and you might come to respect the Cutter. A bit of a Guilty Pleasure, this one!
Jan van den Ende November 24, 2016
