Whisky: Nc’Nean 3 Year (2018) Quiet Rebels; Annabel

Country/Region: Scotland/Highlands

ABV: 48.5%

Cask: Bourbon, Tokaji, STR, Sherry

Age: 3 Years (Distilled May 2018, Bottled Sept. 2021)

Nose: Lime and watermelon gummies with hints of blue raspberry, cotton candy, and bubble gum.  Acetone and spirited prickle with mellow herbal elements and cream— strongly over sweetened boba with pudding, hints of citrus zest and a chalk-mineral note.

Palate: Medium-bodied and saccharine with hard fruit candies: lime, apple, cherry— and Twizzlers or Red Vines with strawberry, raspberry, and licorice, herbal elements of strong boba tea, though over-sweetened for my taste with hints of creamy pudding, perhaps a wisp of smoke near the end with a bit of pepper and spirited prickle.

Finish: Medium to short with hard fruit candies and subtle vanilla.

Score: 3-4

Mental Image: Movie Theater Candy Display

Narrative & Notes: I poured this as dram #2 on a blind “Holiday Mystery Whisky Advent Calendar.” Although Wales was not even an option for a potential source region, I plowed ahead with my wrongness. I guessed this was a no-age-statement Penderyn. I felt that no matter what it was, it would be something I had never tried before.

I was correct on that last count; I have never tried anything from NcʻNean! The distillery began production in 2017, joining the generation of scotch whisky distilleries that opened during the long boom. The distillery is not large, only 100,000 liters per year with the current configuration, and, intriguingly, it was built with sustainability in mind— it has been a 0 emission producer since 2021. I am often suspicious of green-washing, but Nc’Nean looks to be legit.

While this particular release was not really to my taste— it definitely came off as a bit young and unpolished— I cannot wait to see what this spirit is like with a lengthier maturation. There were some promising elements between the fruit, cream, and herbal layers here.

Image Credit: Whisky Auctioneer