Scotland, Speyside: Single malt whisky through the producing distilleries: history, making, production and tasting notes

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Knockando

Description of the whisky

The distillery

Knockando distillery
Knockando Distillery
Knockando
Morayshire IV35 7RP
+44 1340 810 205
Owner: United Distillers & Vintners (Diageo)
Creation date 1898

Photos

The distillery has been founded in 1898 by John Thomson on the river Spey
Back in the early 1900's, Knockando was the first Speyside distillery to use electricity. Closed two years after its creation, it has been acquired by W&A Gilbey Ltd, the famous gin producers from London in 1904.
The distillery has been rebuild in 1969, when it doubled its production capacity. Knockando became part of IDV/Gran Metropolitan in 1975.
It's single malt is always bottled as vintages, and the distillery started marketing single malt as soon as 1978. Knockando is number eight of the single malts exporters.
However, only 8% of the production is marketed as single malt, the remaining part being used for the blends J&B and Spey Royal.

The whisky

A propos des notes de dégustation Your own tasting notes

List of the bottles

Description of the distillery

Knockando
whisky
O.B. Slow matured 1982 16 1/2
1990 17 1/4
See Help 0 - 40 € 40 - 80 € 80 - 120 € 120 - 160 € 160 - 200 € 200 - 240 € 240 - 280 € > 280 €
 Knockando: official bottlings
 

Knockando
1982 Slow matured
Age
 18 years
Alcohol
 43°
Bottler
 Official
=25 euros=25 euros< 25 euros
 Knockando
  The colour is pale gold with greenish glints. The nose evokes the cereal with some herbal hints and is rather simple.
The palate confirms the nose with a poor body and a short finish slightly fruity..

(la Maison du Whisky)

A pleasant smell dominated by the malt, with may be some hints of banana announces a good Speyside whisky. The taste does not deny the first impression. A very nice whisky however without depth. A too short finish does not make it possible to continue to benefit from the pleasure a long time after drinking. This malt is above the average, but not really essential.

The conclusions of the second tasting are very close to those of the first one, however the rating is lower this time. The characteristic complexity of malts from that area is not present in this slightly peppered malt.

The nose detects some hints of malt, with a touch of spices and fresh grass. In the palate, the malt dominates and the taste is relatively simple, without complexity. The finish is rather spicy (pepper) and shows a lack at nuances too.

This whisky is rather simple at the first nosing, marked by the cereals and some spicy hints on the background. After a while, the smell palette seems to increase and spices become dominant, and later some citrus hints appear. Then the nose seems to return to its original simplicity.... In the palate, the taste is both bitter and woody, followed by some slightly acid and peppery hints. The mouth, quite pleasant without being really great is less interesting than the nose was. The finish is rather long, and the memory of a spiced malt seems to dominate. The finish is more impressing than the mouth was.
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Knockando
1990

Age
 12 years
Alcohol
 40°
Bottler
 Official
=25 euros< 25 euros
 knockando 12
 Quite a nice whisky from Speyside. Without great surprises, but without any lack. A rather long finish let benefit for a while of the pleasure after the whisky has left the palate. Light hints of smoke mixed with a slightly honeyish sweetness make this bottle rather pleasant.
If we consider the price of this bottle, it is a very good price-quality ratio. For the blended whisky lovers, lets remind this malt is the base of the famous J&B.

A second tasting after a few weeks obliged me to revise slightly my opinion about this malt. The smell really reminded me an Edradour, with this touch of special and pleasant stuff. Malt? dried fruits? The finish stays long and pleasant...

The nose is characterized by the malt and some slightly acid touches, recalling bakers yeast on a fruity background. In the palate, the taste is rather pleasant, but without complexity, and malt is the main flavour, even if some remote smoke touches are present as well. A finish of average length.
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Speyside

Speyside Map

The Speyside area is situated at the North of the Cairngorm mountain and goes to the Moray firth. It is delimited by two rivers: the Findhorn at the West side and the Deveron on the East side.
The area is named after the river Spey. Most of the distilleries take their water in one of its affluents; the Fiddich, the Livet or the Avon.
About sixty distilleries from Speyside are described on this site.

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