Nc'nean Organic Batch .12

Nose: Grassy and grainy (hay, cut grass, green vegetables, crushed dandelions) with a lot of freshly sawn wood. There's a fruity note, but it's more like canned apple slices than fresh apples, and also a strange perfume-like note that I eventually identified as vanilla trying to break through a lot of cabbage water and yeasty bread dough. Water has little effect on the nose. Palate: A solvent-sweet arrival with aggressively sharp white pepper and a sweet grassy flavor. The texture is oily, but as it develops, the pepper intensifies, canceling out the texture. Dandelions, sawdust, and raw white flour. Again, water has virtually no impact on the palate. Finish: Medium/Short. Grassy cereal fades to weak black tea and a slightly sour aftertaste. This is very young whisky, and while I don't criticize a whisky solely for its youth (there are many excellent 3-5 year old drams available), this one smells and tastes like it's barely out of the cradle, even though it's apparently 4 years old. The fact that dilution has almost no effect on it also speaks volumes about its youth. There's a lot of potential here, but this whisky needs significantly more time to rest and mature. I had the impression that the distillate was rich and oily, but the casks were ferociously raw and overwhelming it. Nc'nean has received much positive feedback, and to their credit, they are serious about sustainability and artisanal quality, but I believe the distillery is being somewhat overhyped, which never does any good. Tasted from a 30ml sample, I will revisit their whisky in about 12 years to see how it has developed. “Average”: 79/100 (2.75 stars)