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| Hi, this is one of our (almost) daily tastings. Santé! |
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July 6, 2026 |
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WF's Little Duos,
today two indie Knockando |
Not a particularly common theme, and independent Knockandos are even rarer than a French railway worker who has never been on strike. But you may already know that we like to fill little WF with improbable tastings that sometimes make very little sense. |
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Knockando 10 yo 2015/2025 (57%, Spirit of Scotland, Jas. Gordon, refill bourbon barrel, cask #1282, 157 bottles) 
Here is one of Gordon MacPhail’s subsidiary labels, and I must admit it had been quite a while since I’d spotted any among the new arrivals. Then again, we’re hardly aware of everything that’s going on, far from it. Colour: white wine. Nose: Knockando without sherry is quite another proposition, although I do remember that among the early official 12-year-old vintage-dated releases, some were rather pale and very good indeed. In any case, that is certainly the situation here, with plenty of fresh barley sprinkled with a little apple and lemon juice, alongside a delicate vanilla that knows its place. Lovely notes of wet chalk come along to complete the picture. With water: much the same, with no real change. Perhaps just a faint touch of fennel. Mouth (neat): cheerful and fresh, full of lemon and Williams pear, with an eau-de-vie side that is very much to our liking. Blind, it could even rather mislead you... With water: the pear begins to dominate the lemon. A few touches of aniseed and wormwood. Finish: fairly long, fresh, and still very much on that eau-de-vie profile, with a limoncello-like note in the aftertaste. Comments: the vibrant and fresh side of Knockando. This is very good indeed.
SGP:641 - 85 points. |
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Knockando 15 yo 2010/2025 (54.4%, Signatory Vintage, Cask Strength Collection, 1st fill oloroso sherry hogshead finish, cask #4, 335 bottles)
It seems to me that Signatory is the independent bottler offering the greatest number of Knockandos. With this sherry influence, we should be rather closer to the official ‘slow matured’ versions and their ilk. Colour: amber. Nose: we do find a little of that youthful full-proof bourbon character that often turns up in certain sherry finishes, with cedarwood, pencil shavings, as well as dried apricots and figs. With water: it relaxes nicely as currants emerge, alongside thin slices of dried banana. A faint rum, chocolate and raisin side develops in the background. Mouth (neat): orange chocolate and pencil shavings at first, then increasingly peppery, with growing notes of green walnut. With water: amusing notes of ‘oude-like’ jenever, pepper, nutmeg and allspice... Then the candied oranges strike back. Finish: long and decidedly spicy. Barbecued Herbes de Provence. Comments: the perfect counterpoint to the Jas. Gordon, although to my mind the quality is very much on the same level.
SGP:561 - 85 points. |
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