The Knockdhu distillery has stood at the foot of Knock Hill in Aberdeenshire since 1894, built by John Morrison for the Distillers Company Limited. To avoid confusion with Knockando in Speyside, the single malt has been bottled under the AnCnoc name (Gaelic for the hill) since 1993.
The 16 Year Old sits comfortably in the core range, matured in a combination of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks. Bottled at 46% ABV, non-chill-filtered and with no added colouring, it shows the distillery character without dressing it up. The spirit at Knockdhu has always favoured light, honeyed and fruity notes, the result of a slow distillation through small stills with worm tub condensers no longer in use here, replaced by shell-and-tube units.
What strikes the drinker first is restraint. There is no contest between cask and spirit; the sherry influence colours rather than dominates, leaving the malt to do the talking. At sixteen years the oak has given enough structure to carry the abv without harshness.
It is a Highland malt in the older sense of the word — quietly made, modestly priced for its age, and content to let the drinker come to it. Those who find themselves bored by overly sweet sherry monsters or peat-laden statements may find AnCnoc 16 a welcome corrective.
