Nc'Nean Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch Whisky Review

 

Photo courtesy of Nc'Nean Distillery

Annabel Thomas was a management consultant in the United Kingdom. In 2013, she dreamed of starting a distillery with her family. Annabel stepped away from her consulting job and trekked to Islay to learn how whisky was made. What she saw disappointed her.

 

She discovered that distilleries used non-organic barley and a lot of gas, electricity, and oil during production. Annabel believed a distillery could produce great whiskey while being Earth-friendly, so she started raising money to make that happen.

 

In the meantime, she consulted with Dr. Jim Swan to set things up as she wanted. Dr. Swan helped design the distillery, and four years later, Annabel was distilling her organic Highland Scotch whisky and releasing it to the public in 2020. The Nc’nean Distillery was no longer just a dream!

 

Nc’nean is, without a doubt, an unusual name. It is a shortened version of Neachneohain, an ancient Gaelic goddess known as the Queen of Spirits and defender of nature.

 

She procures her barley from Scotland’s east coast and tinkers with yeasts used typically for wine and rum production. Fermentation occurs over five days. The distillery is entirely fueled by renewable energy. Once fully matured, the whisky is packaged in 100% recyclable glass bottles. Nc’nean was the first distillery in the UK to do this.

 

Nc’nean is B-Corp certified, meaning it adheres to strict, verifiable, and regularly reviewed standards that encompass environmental issues, accounting, hiring, legal, and other key areas. In 2021, it became the first whisky distillery in the UK to be verified as net zero emissions for scopes 1 and 2 and carbon neutral for scope 3.

 

The subject of today’s review is Nc’Nean Cask Strength Organic Single Malt.

 

“I’m really excited to be adding a cask strength whisky to our flagship range. When this expression was previously bottled exclusively for some of our fans in Germany, we received such an enthusiastic response about the fruitiness and spice that the higher alcohol strength brings to our signature whisky. With this in mind, we decided to roll it out across our other markets. If you’re a fan of cask strength whiskies, then this one is for you!” - Annabel Thomas, Founder

 

Nc’Nean is distributed to 25 states and can ship online orders to 44 states.

 

So, how does this cask strength release taste? To answer that, we have to #DrinkCurious, and for that, I must thank Nc’Nean Distillery and its exclusive USA distributor, ImpEx Beverages, for providing me with a sample in exchange for my no-strings-attached, honest review.

 

• Whisky Type: Single Malt Scotch
• Region: Highland
• Distiller: Nc’Nean Distillery
• Age: NAS (at least four years)
• Mashbill: 100% organic Scottish malted barley (unpeated)
• Cooperage: Matured in 55% STR wine casks, 43% Bourbon barrels, and 2% Oloroso Sherry casks.
• Alcohol Content: 59% ABV (118°)
• Price per 700mL: $99.99
• Non-chill filtered
• Naturally colored

 

Appearance: I used a Glencairn glass to sip this Scotch whisky neat. A thin, jagged rim discharged thick, evenly spaced, slower tears. The whisky had a bright, golden hue.

 

Nose: I allowed about ten minutes before I brought the glass under my nose and inhaled. The aroma was rich and sweet, with smells of grilled pineapples, peaches, vanilla, brown sugar, and lemon oil. As I drew the air through my lips, I encountered more pineapples.  

 

Palate: Nc’Nean had a dense, creamy mouthfeel. I tasted lemons, oranges, and stewed peaches on the front of my palate. The middle suggested roasted almonds, milk chocolate, and ripe plums. Flavors of candied ginger, rye spice, and oak commanded the back.  

 

Finish: The candied ginger, rye spice, and oak flavors carried through to the finish, joined by notes of stewed peaches, lemon zest, and roasted almonds. It was more spicy than sweet or fruity. The roof of my mouth and sides of my tongue tingled slightly, and it remained level until the very end. I timed the duration at 3:49, making it one of the longest I’ve encountered, at least in recent memory.

 

Bottle, Bar, or Bust: In some ways, Nc’Nean Cask Strength reminded me of the distillery’s flagship whisky. I suppose that’s expected. Yet, there were significant differences, especially with a finish that seemed to last an eternity.

 

There’s a $20.00 premium for the Cask Strength compared to the flagship expression. And, as much as I enjoyed that, the Cask Strength release is just wildly delicious. Nc’Nean Cask Strength is a testament to what great, undiluted, non-peated Scotch whisky can be. I loved it, and it is worth having a Bottle. Cheers!

 

 

My Simple, Easy-to-Understand Rating System

• Bottle = Buy It
• Bar = Try It
• Bust = Leave It

 

Whiskeyfellow encourages you to enjoy your whiskey as you see fit, but begs you to do so responsibly.