Review: Knockando 12 y.o. The Managers‘ Choice 1996 – 2009, Sherry Cask 800790, 58,5%

Peter Krause — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 14:30:32 +0000

Knockando has been a big contributor to the Justerini & Brooks Blends but also has been marketed as an entry-level Single Malt at a fair price point. These whiskies, some of them vintage malts, have even been available in supermarkets for quite a while now. And there is nothing wrong with that. Some of the old 1970 blends mentioned (e.g. the 20 y.o. from way back: 90 points, good old sherry style and old bottle flavour) are very positively surprising but the vintage versions rarely convinced me in full (they ranged from 75 – 87 points in my books), somehow they striked me as a bit thin. With my recent visit at the distillery (very nice guys!) I became interested in giving the latest version a try:

Knockando 12 y.o. The Managers‘ Choice 1996 – 2009, Sherry Cask 800790, 58,5%

Nose: A very sherried and nutty profile that doesn’t show a lot of distillery character but presents a paradise for first-fill Sherry cask lovers. I am getting plums, cherries, raisins, bitter chocolate, chestnuts, beef jerky and some sulphur in a slightly dry style.

Palate: My umami-detectors are in full action here. This powerhouse of a Knockando tastes pretty much like the nose but has some bitter elements that go with that kind of style. In addition to the aromas mentioned there are Demerara sugar and hints of cigar tobacco to be found. Nice but not utterly complex.

Finish: Quite long and – you guessed it – sherryish. The cask is doing all the talking.

Score: 89

Comment: A great dram for the Sherry heads among you but definitely a different experience from the usual Knockando dram. I would like to taste more single cask Knockando from various ages and cask types to get a better understanding of their capability.

Knockando 12 y.o. The Managers‘ Choice 1996 – 2012 Sherry Cask 800790 – Slowdrink.de

Review: Knockando 12 y.o. The Managers‘ Choice 1996 – 2009, Sherry Cask 800790, 58,5%