Knockdhu 14-Year-Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky (Single Cask)
KNOCKDHU single malt Scotch whisky
14 years old
Cask strength
56.9% alc/vol
1st fill ex-bourbon hogshead
Moscatel wine finish
Filled: 07/04/2008
Bottled: 22/09/2022
In some distant, alternate universe, this Knockdhu cask went straight into bottle pure and unadulterated. Loaded with creamy vanilla, nutty biscuit, fresh flowers and a light minerality, it nearly made the cut here, too. But then we got our paws on an ultra-fruity, freshly-emptied moscatel barrique, and just couldn’t resist. So, this is how it exists in our world: deftly finished for 6 months after 14 years in ex-bourbon – the loose, disparate parts now greater than their sum – as an unctuous, juiced-up dram that celebrates both whisky and wine in equal measure.
**ONLY 271 BOTTLES**
COLOUR
Natural, gold
NOSE
Honeysuckle, fenugreek
PALATE
Sponge cake, baked apple, salted pecans
FINISH
Mocha, manuka honey
Single malt Scotch whisky must be distilled at a single distillery in Scotland, in a copper pot still, from a wash containing only malted barley, yeast and water. It must then be matured in oak – in Scotland – for no less than 3 years and bottled at 40% alc/vol minimum.
The term ‘single cask’ is used to define whisky that has been bottled exclusively from one individual cask – and since no two single casks are the same, all whiskies labelled ‘single cask’ are unique, rare and limited.
Casks are typically filled around 62-63.5% alc/vol, although this drops during maturation as spirit evaporates (known as the “angel’s share”). For typical single malt whiskies, when a cask is finally deemed ready – and ‘disgorged’ or emptied – it’s blended with other casks of the same specification and age, and brought down to a standard bottling strength with water (usually 40-46% alc/vol). ‘Cask strength’ whiskies, on the other hand, are bottled at the strength they’re drawn from cask, with nothing added or taken away. Since they tend to be much stronger than your average whisky, pour a smaller-than-normal dram into a tulip-shaped nosing glass, like the Glencairn, and have a little jug of water handy to dose in. Be careful not to over dilute the whisky though – instead, add a drop of water at a time and slowly take in the subtle changes to the flavour and aroma as it opens up. Then, once you find your sweet spot, and the ideal strength to your taste, sit back and enjoy.
Volume: 700ml (or 750ml in the US)
Strength: 56.9% ABV (cask strength)
Bottle: Custom-moulded amber glass with tapered sides
Closure: Custom debossed synthetic stopper
Capsule: Black PVC