Tag Archives: Nc’Nean

Whisky Ladies’s Organic+ with Benromach Organic 46%, Nc’Nean 46%, GlenDronach Peated 48%

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I totally admit it, I was exhausted. An extra-long set of three flights back from Canada – the last of which was nearly 14 hours on the plane! Yup! That’s what happens when flying during monsoon, needing to refuel in another city before finally touching down in Mumbai. And yet it was worth it to join the Whisky Ladies latest evening!

We began with a calibration dram – something already open to get us in the mood for the malts to come! And this was no mild, neutral dram… no siree! The name “Vengeance” alone was a pretty clear indication it would be a ‘wake-up’ call rather than gently ‘easing into’ our evening of tasting.

It was a new expression to me. Vengeance X is from the Wakatsuru Saburomaru Distillery in Japan, and is a collaboration of Saburomaru x Shin Megami Tensei V and is a blend with another undisclosed distillery, combining sherry and red wine casks with peat. In our mini pour, here is what we found…

Vengeance X Blended Whisky 46%

  • Nose – Heady! Heavy sherry, rum, and brandy… then shifted from a mix of alcohols to sweet Nescafe, dark molasses, super sweet, cherry candies
  • Palate    – Surprisingly prickly. Dark sherry, heavy wood, peat
  • Finish    – Lingers, rich and resinous

It was much more powerful than a mere 46% indicated. With a start like this, we were indeed awake for the coming attractions!

We then moved on to our featured trio. There was an organic element in the equation, with each bottle carefully chosen from recent trips.

  • Benromach 9 year (2014 – 2023) Contrasts Organic 46%
  • Nc’Nean Organic (lot BH08) 46%
  • GlenDronach Traditionally Peated 48%

We began with the Benromach… a twist on the traditional with their “Contrasts Organic” expression, which is matured in virgin American oak barrels with organic barley.

Benromach 9 year (2014 – 2023) Contrasts Organic 46%

  • Nose – Surprisingly light at first. Leafy, green peppercorn, dried ginger, vanilla, honeysuckle, wood, nutmeg, cloves, and then minerals
  • Palate – Wow! All the big bold flavours were on the palate – from chilli, to banana, coffee, and coconut, honey, and capsicum – a real mix and range of contrasting elements
  • Finish – Bitter aftertaste initially, some tobacco leaf, some even found a bit of sawdust

I found this Benromach expression differs from what I normally associate with this distillery. This is likely due to their use of virgin oak barrels instead of their normal ex-Bourbon and sherry casks – sometimes with a touch of peat too.

Next up, we shifted to a newer player with Nc’Nean. I first encountered Nc’Nean in Nürnberg, Germany, during the February 2020 “The Village” whisky messe as part of their early launch activities. I’ve since had a chance to sample a few different batches of their core Organic Single Malt expression and the Huntress expression – Orchard Cobbler plus their Quiet Rebels line with Gordon. I had even purchased a bottle in 2022 to bring back for the Whisky Ladies! As it turns out, that particular bottle became a gift for a friend before I could host a session. So I was delighted the ladies had a chance to try this whisky… which has a truly beautiful bottle!

Nc’Nean Organic (lot BH08) 46%

  • Nose – Cod liver oil, medicinal, overripe gruit, then became fruitier, some moss, honey citrus, hard round candies, orange peel… After considerable time, it opened up into light hay then gentle flowers
  • Palate – Initially also medicinal, fire, rough and raw – hot! It was young and brash. Then, as it sat in the glass, it began to morph… think a peppery candy…
  • Finish – Salty then candy sweet!

From fishy to fruity and then remarkably from fruity to floral! Whilst it wasn’t the top pick of the trio, it was worth trying!

We closed with GlenDronach – which I normally associate with rich sherry, not peat. In this case, the barley was peated and then matured in PX and Oloroso sherry casks, as well as Port.

GlenDronach Traditionally Peated 48%

  • Nose – Rich mocha,
  • Palate – Concentrated dry fruits, lots of dates especially. Molasses, a curiously “juicy” peat, and also very sweet. Cherry pits, loads of caramel and smoke, more of that mocha, apricots
  • Finish – Bitter, wood that fades, left a minty paan-like aftertaste

It had a wonderful flavour profile – full-bodied, rich, yet not overpowering. There was a really interesting quality to this expression – one described it as a smoky liqueur – given it was both incredibly sweet and most definitely peated!

With the revisit after some time, it had a delightful ‘roasted’ quality, shifted into a delicious maple bacon / smoked meats dimension that many of us really enjoy in our peaty drams.

For most of the ladies, the GlenDronach was the clear favourite, followed by the Benromach, with the Nc’Nean lagging behind.

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BMC’s Nc’Nean Night: Original, Huntress Orchard Cobbler, Quiet Rebels Gordon

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A few years ago, at Nürnberg’s The Village whisky fair, I was introduced to a new Highland distillery – Nc’Nean. The ladies were passionate about their venture – committed to crafting an organic whisky in harmony with the environment, aiming to make a big impression with a small footprint. In a short time, their founder Annabel Thomas and team have made their mark.

Here’s how the folks at Nc’Nean introduce their distillery:

Hello, we’re Nc’nean. A small team of eco-conscious drinks fanatics on a mission to change the way the world thinks about whisky from Scotland. To create delicious, experimental spirits which can exist in harmony with this planet we call home.

Our small distillery is located in the village of Drimnin on the Morvern peninsula on the West Coast of Scotland, and our copper pot stills are powered by 100% renewable energy. B Corp certified and verified net zero carbon emissions for scopes 1 and 2, we put the planet first. Using only organic Scottish barley, long mashing and fermentation times, and playing with yeasts not always used in whisky distilling, we produce elegant unpeated whiskies which are fruity on the palate, and are bottled in 100% recycled glass bottles.

The Nc’Nean whiskies selected by our Bombay Malt & Cigar club host were:

  • Nc’Nean Organic Single Malt Original 46% £51.75
  • Nc’Nean Huntress – Orchard Cobbler (2019 / 2024) 3rd Release 48.5% £85.71
  • Nc’Nean Quiet Rebels – Gordon (2018 / 2023) 3rd Release 48.5% £71.55

Nc’Nean Organic Single Malt Original 46%

  • Nose – Delicate, floral, fresh farm to apples and honey. It was fruity and fun, with loads of fresh apple juice, with the florals fading as it opened up. Over time, it was joined by sweet lemon barley water
  • Palate – Initially a bit spicy, with a debate whether it is more cayenne or black pepper. It settled down into a warm apple pie
  • Finish – A long, peppery finish
  • Water – We added just to see what it would do. It enhanced the bitterness, tempering the sweetness, so that the apple sauce morphed into the apple core with seeds
  • Revisit – With the revisit, the lemon barley became more pronounced than the apple cider

It was described as being like walking through a garden into an orchard… It was a pleasant, easy-going dram, making it a rather good start to our explorations.

What more do we know?

This is our flagship whisky – elegant and fruity with flavours of citrus, peach, apricot and spice. Those lovely citrus and peach flavours come from our spirit, the spice from our STR casks and the signature body and texture comes from our 100% organic barley. Find out more about what casks we’ve used for which batch, the source of the barley, the yeast used or the date it was bottled using the dropdown menu below. You’ll find the batch number or code on the back of the neck label.

Unfortunately, I didn’t catch a glimpse of the batch, so didn’t want to guess any further details!

The Huntress series is an annual limited release. The team at Nc’Nean introduces this Huntress – Orchard Cobbler expression as follows:

This particular Huntress release is incredibly unique, in that the spirit used is only produced once a year when the distillers cross over from one distillation recipe to another.

We run two different spirit runs each year, one for whisky set to be released at a younger age, and one set to be released after ten plus years. The spirit matured for Huntress Orchard Cobbler comes from the distillation in the week after this spirit recipe is switched over – a time where cut points are changed and unusually high fruity compounds flood into the spirit. So fruity, that the whisky is named after one of the team’s favourite desserts.

What did we think?

Nc’Nean Huntress – Orchard Cobbler (Aug 2019 / March 2024) 3rd Release 48.5%

  • Nose – Quite active to start, unripe plums, some ginger spice, lots of candied apples, toffee that was nearly fudge, banana peel, ripe fruits
  • Palate – Warm apple sauce, toffee sweetness. Think of an apple mille-feuille with vanilla custard!
  • Finish – A nice peppery finish
  • Water – Amps up the spice, then settles nicely

We found this interesting – youthful yet with enough going on to work.

Casks make all the difference; this Huntress expression is a product of three casks: STR (66%), ex-Bourbon (31%), and Oloroso (3%).

Nc’Nean calls their team the Quiet Rebels. Hence, it is only fitting that they have a series devoted to key members of their team!

Our bottle? We tried “Gordon” for Gordon Wood, distillery manager, described as having:

Spent 23 years with one of the giants of the industry. Loves the West Coast. Bringing it all together at Nc’nean. Has a life goal to get to work by boat one day.

And what about the whisky expression?

Nc’Nean Quiet Rebels Gordon (2018/2019 – Aug/Sep 2023) 3rd Release 48.5%

  • Nose – Very different than both the Original and Huntress! Instead of apples, we were greeted with lemon drops, an evolved floral, vanilla, and yellow fruit blend – particularly yellow plum, lemon custard pie, apple compote, candied ginger, lightly milky, and dulce de leche. Yum!
  • Palate – So smooth, buttery, a great mouthfeel, candied orange rind, gentle spice, oak, vanilla, ripe orchard fruits… all in great balance!
  • Finish – Lovely
  • Water – Not necessary; however, if you want to add, it enhances the wood element
  • Revisit – After remaining in the glass for some time, it was even creamier. A delight!

We really enjoyed this one. It was by far our favourite! For me, this was the dram to settle down with for the rest of our evening!

What more do we know? It is made from a trio of casks filled between September 2018 and July 2019, and a third undisclosed cask from an earlier period: 74% STR red wine casks, 19% ex-sherry, and 7% ex-Rivesaltes (French fortified wine). Bottled between August to September 2023, it is unfortunately sold out.

There you have it – a nice leisurely exploration of a trio from Nc’Nean!

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More Minis – Nc’Nean, Tipperary, Gulliver’s 47

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Continuing my wee whisky mini explorations, I turned to a combination of two different sets… mixing up countries and styles!

For Nc’Nean, this mini came after I’d already purchased a full bottle with thoughts to bring it back to Mumbai for the Whisky Ladies. I knew it would be young but had been impressed with meeting the women leading the way with this fresh new independent distillery – committed to sustainable production, carbon-neutral, using recycled glass for the bottles, and most importantly passionate about crafting a fine dram in harmony with our planet.

Nc’Nean Single Scottish Malt Batch 7, 46%

  • Colour – Light gold
  • Nose – How delightfully fresh, fresh barley, light orange citrus
  • Palate – Initially prickly then gentled, quite young and active, some ginger, tinned pineapple, honey sweetness with something a bit rustic, tannins belying a wine cask influence? If yes, it was subtle and balanced
  • Finish – Waxy, a touch bitter like roasted nuts, light spice, a touch of orange oil

The challenge with tasting minis is that sometimes it simply isn’t enough! I was glad that I have a bottle to explore another time at leisure with friends.

I then shifted gears from Scotland to the Emerald Isles…

Tipperary 8 year Red Wine Cask Finish, Cask RC00117, 59.5%

  • Colour – What colour! A bright ruby
  • Nose – Bold blackberries, spice
  • Palate – Brash, a bit harsh and spicy, with some strong oak undertones, tannins and juicy red berries, like chewy red gummy bears
  • Finish – Sweet and tart at the same time, oak spice chasing

If Nc’Nean had a subtle hand, here there was no mistaking the use of a red wine cask with the Tipperary. So heavy, I wondered if it could have been finished in a decidedly “wet” cask leaving some wine behind? There is nothing shy about this whisky!

Whilst the Irish distillery is undisclosed, the folks at Tipperary have started their own distillery and in time will be putting out their own whisky. In the interim, this bottling of another is retailing for Eur 68.

And then on to a third country – England – with a lightly peated dram from The English Whisky Company:

Gulliver’s 47 Single English Malt 47%

  • Colour – Pale white gold, nearly translucent
  • Nose – Fresh sea breeze and smoke, angel food cake, citrus, layers of soft peat
  • Palate – Delightful! Gentle sweet peat, apples, buttery, lovely malty, most
  • Finish – Sweet tobacco leaf, lingering cinnamon

I really enjoyed this one – rolling around the palate – the peat was subtle yet satisfying. A rather nice dram.

What more do we know? It was aged in bourbon casks from Jim Bean, with the brand inspired by Samuel Gulliver an explorer who brought wines, spirits and liqueurs from around the world back to 18th century Britain. You can find this for Eur 60.

What fun to mix and match tasting from two new distilleries and one brand with a distillery to be!

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