Cherry

AnCnoc 12 Year

AnCnoc 12 Year

Younger than some of the more famous Scottish distilleries, Knockdhu was founded in 1893 by John Morrison in Banffshire. The location was chosen not only for access to water and grain sources, but due to proximity to rail lines in the region. Production lasted for the most part continuously for almost a century, before it closed and sold to Inver House. Production began again in 1989 and continues unabated. Annual production is on the smaller side, around 1.9 million liters (18% of The Glenlivet’s annual output). The whisky is named anCnoc (gaelic for “the hill”) to differentiate it from Knockando, with a core range of 12, 16 and 30 year malts, along with a NAS peated range.

Corsair Triple Smoke Single Barrel

Corsair Triple Smoke Single Barrel

Some distilleries will sell off individual casks, either to producers like Gordon & MacPhail, or to separate parties like liquor stores, who bottle it themselves. Such was the case here, a single barrel from Ace Spirits of Hopkins, MN. Single barrel expressions like this offer a unique expression of the spirit, as each barrel can be slightly different from another due to all the factors that go into the whiskey making process. Normally, Scotchology likes to review whiskies that are generally available and not exceedingly rare or expensive; the thought process being that if you’re interested in what you see in the review, you can go out and get one for yourself. This is not one of those reviews, as the contents of a single cask are quite limiting. Rather, this review can help recommend the choice of seeking out single barrel expressions, and help shed a little light on what one of those barrels from Corsair is like.

Corsair Triple Smoke

Corsair Triple Smoke

One of the many American distilleries sprouting in the decade, Corsair Distillery is located in the somewhat unlikely city of Nashville, TN*. Founded by friends Andrew Webber and Darek Bell in 2008, Corsair has not wasted any time, purposefully eschewing what’s been done before. Not waiting seems to be a core value, as many of their spirits are aged less than a year and pushing the boundaries is an expectation. Not content to use one grain, they produce everything from absinthe to genever to pumpkin spice moonshine in several core offerings and many seasonal or experimental spirits. Thankfully they have good taste to back up their creativity. Many of their spirits have won awards, most of all this Triple Smoke whiskey that is pot distilled from three elements of malted barley, each smoked by cherry wood, beach wood and peat.