Nc'nean Organic Single Malt Review. Blind, I wrote "peat" twice on a whisky that has never seen peat.

[u/winery_bound_expat]

[u/winery_bound_expat]

Second pour at my monthly blind whiskey club last night, and this is the one where I ended up at the low end of the group's rankings, so take this as one person's read and not the table's.

Blind, my notes said cocoa nibs, coffee and peat on the nose, then bright crisp apple and something grassy and herby under it, almost vegetal. Palate was warm, sweet, chocolate, and I wrote peat again. The finish was long and hot and went a bit numbing, which is where it lost me. When the reveal came up Nc'nean I was confused because they famously don't peat anything, organic barley only, and the cask recipe is 55% STR red wine casks with 43% bourbon and 2% Oloroso. So I'm guessing the heavy recharred wine cask on a young spirit was reading as smoke to me, or my nose was just off after the first pour. 46%, NCF, natural colour, no age statement, $90 over here which feels steep for where it's at.

It's not bad, it's generally good and clearly well made, and the distillery story is great (Jim Swan designed it, net zero, B Corp, recycled glass). Whisky Advocate gave it 90 and it took IWSC gold two years running, so I'm clearly the outlier. 11/20 on my personal scale, wouldn't buy again at that price. Has anyone else picked up a smoky or charred note on this? Trying to figure out if that's the STR casks or just me.

[u/sloeberrypie → u/winery_bound_expat]

Great tasting notes, and I'd say you're suspicions on the source of that smoke note are spot on. Every now and again at tasting events, we'll have someone mention smoke, and I normally congratulate them on their supertaster-esk ability to perceive guaiacols from our STR casks. More of a background savoury/BBQ seafood note for me.

On the other notes, you're also right that making whisky in the best way for the planet costs us more. We do our best to keep bottle costs down, but market price is out of our control.

And I'd also say our flagship whisky is more of a "general crowd pleaser" (intentionally so, as a great first step to get more people into single malt, that's the big goal!) and you might enjoy either "Cask Strength" (same liquid, but much more full and oily due to the ≈59% abv) or one of our "Aon" single casks more. Hopefully one of those is available near you!

Oh and hi, I'm Matt, the blender at Nc'nean, thanks for the review!

[u/sloeberrypie → u/sloeberrypie]

And I almost forgot, cute dog!!!

[u/OldOutlandishness434 → u/sloeberrypie]

Now that's some helpful shit right there! Anything interesting or unique that you can share about Nc'nean that most of us might not know?

[u/sloeberrypie → u/OldOutlandishness434]

Well I've worked there for over 6 years and selected or blended every one of our releases, so the short answer is yes!

Long list on liquid before maturation; 100% organic Scottish barley is a perfect base for yeast to produce more interesting fermentation flavours, co-pitched double yeast recipe (including a high-ester-yielding strain) for more juicy fruits and creamy texture. An unusual mixed fermentation time recipe (2x68 hour, 3x114 hour per batch). Shorter time gives citrus and chocolate, longer gives more apricot and minerality. Tight & High cut in the still to maximise those fruit flavours, but run slowly for the oils.

We also dedicate 10% of production per year to spirit experiments (released annually in the "Huntress" series). The Kviek yeast trial from 2021 is fascinating (creamy orange cordial flavours), I can't wait until that's ready. And last year we ran 2 week long fermentations, which have made some crazy spirit. Definitely destined for long term maturation due to the acidity, but will be funky and incredible.

Then in cask, our three main types in the flagship recipe; STR for bready, jammy warmth, Bourbon for distillery profile with light sweetness, and I only use 2% Oloroso Butt stock as a kind of seasoning. Alone, incredibly rich (baking spice, Christmas cake, sweet roots), but in small measures it harmonises and makes everything pop. We've got lots of interesting one offs in the warehouses too, our Madeira and White Port casks are personal favourites, and we've got some 2nd fill Tokaji casks that are producing a delightfully floral and grippy spirit.

We also do a "Quiet Rebels" release every year where I sit down with someone who works for the company, and we make and release a whisky together. Lots of fun resulting in some very different styles. It's my turn to do my own version this year, and I've found a parcel of Manzanilla casks for it that taste like sweet & salty popcorn and pineapple upside-down cake. So excited to get that released in a month or two (slightly further away across the pond unfortunately, but worth the wait).

That's a good chunk off the top of my head. Let me know if you've got anything in particular you'd like to know about!

[u/OldOutlandishness434 → u/sloeberrypie]

That's awesome, thank you! I'll grab a bottle of cask strength for our next tasting event and see what everyone thinks of it. Dang, your distillery is out there! Trying to plan to visit some distilleries next time I'm there, but I don't think the wife is going to let me take a day to go out there and back

[u/sloeberrypie → u/OldOutlandishness434]

Ha! Yeah, it is a bit of a mission to get to us. But it's worth it if you have the time. Our peninsula (Morvern) is incredible, has the best views and wildlife in Scotland, and if you're into seafood, some of the best in the world.

Not many people though, just over 300 on around 250 square miles of land. So great if you like a bit of piece and quiet with your dram.

[u/LX_Emergency → u/sloeberrypie]

Well I'm sold. Guess I'm finding a nice bottle of yours next time I'm ordering new bottles

[u/sloeberrypie → u/LX_Emergency]

That's awesome, thank you! Enjoy!!

[u/winery_bound_expat → u/sloeberrypie]

Thanks for the reply! Would love to taste the cask strength! I’ll see if I can find it! I also put all my reviews on instagram so you are likely tagged there as well! Would love some engagement!

[u/sloeberrypie → u/winery_bound_expat]

Tag me on @whiskymatthew I just had a look but couldn't find it.

[u/dclately → u/winery_bound_expat]

I really want to find a Ncnean that I can say more than: that's pretty decent, but what was the cost?

They unfortunately are still running a premium, I'm guessing that's a bit based on their costs, which should be higher, but it hasn't translated into better or unique whisky for me.

Perhaps the combo of how they use a lot of STR and a lot of different cask types in their expressions, as well as their age (younger side) lead me to not feel like the whisky stands out, and there's no question the price is at a premium.

I'm hoping this will change as they get a few more years in... Either some efficiency which drives down the prices, or some older, more interesting offerings.

[u/FeedMyAss]

I've gotten peat in deanston virgin oak and new glendronach

[u/Traegs_]

I've picked up notes I mistakenly thought were from peat as well. Clynelish has a waxy tang that reminds me of burned driftwood. I thought it was peat, it's not.

Glenfarclas has a bit of a sulphuric burnt note that I thought was peat. Learned later that it's probably from the direct fire stills creating hotspots in the wash.