Review by: zSolaris
Distillery: Nc’nean.
Region: Highland.
Age: NAS, approximately 3 years and 4 months old..
ABV: 48.5%.
Cask Type: Ex-bourbon and ex-Tokaji barrels.
Price: Day 2 of Advent Calendar (see below).
Color: 0.7, Amber. Natural Color and Non Chill Filtered.
This dram is the third of 2022’s Christmas Countdown! Whiskies from previous years can be found here.
Every year, I look at the advent calendar offerings that pop up across the pond and think that it would be super cool to do something like that (it is actually the inspiration for my review spree in December). Turns out, I wasn’t the only one who wanted to do one so between /u/federalagents, /u/DangerousDoorknob, and I we put our own together! This is the second dram of the calendar. It was reviewed partially blind as in I know the whiskies in the calendar but not the order.
Nose: It is quite funky in the way that acetone can sometimes have a funky smell to it. There’s some sweet wine, sherry perhaps, that comes through but not a ton going on.
Palate: Seems like quite young. It has a distinct burn and taste of acetone but it isn’t too harsh. The sweet wine note comes through heavily followed by some notes that reminds me of condensed milk and fresh whipped cream. Thankfully, a few drops of water take enough of the acetone edge off to make this fairly drinkable.
Finish: Short. It is peppery with a note of custard.
Guess: Scotland, Malt Whisky, Highland, Unpeated, 5-9 years of age, Ex-Sherry Cask 50-55% ABV.
Reveal: Nc’nean Organic Quiet Rebels Anabel.
Conclusion: Nc’nean is a distillery I’ve honestly done very little looking into and while I knew this was in the calender, I had no clue what to even potentially expect here. It seems like Nc’nean might have some decent distillate to keep an eye out for! While this one clearly shows its youth, the notes of condensed milk and whipped cream were quite delicious. A byproduct of the Tokaji casks? Perhaps, but if anything it tells me that Nc’nean’s distillate can pair well with some of those nice and hefty wine finishes. Great one to try and I can’t wait for what is next!
Final Score: 76.
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Malt Runners 
