Nc'Nean Quiet Rebels Annabel

Nc'Nean is one of the few new distilleries that have truly impressed me. Their initial release, the organic malt, was quite surprising. Now they have introduced this special annual bottling called "Quiet Rebels". Each Quiet Rebel bottling honors one of the distillery's workers, of whom there are only a few. This first expression is named "Annabel", after the interesting owner herself. Annabel Thomas, the mastermind and owner of Nc'Nean, chose the name, a shortened form of the Gaelic Goddess-Fairy-Queen-Witch Neachneohain, also known as Nicnevin or Gyre-Carling – the queen of spirits, mother of fairies, and a lover of nature. It is fitting that this bottling carries her name, as it comes from the first completely eco-friendly Distillery. Nothing goes to waste, and even the striking bottle is made from recycled glass. This spirit has an alcohol content of 48.5% ABV and was matured in ex-bourbon and Hungarian Tokaji wine casks. On the nose, there's banana bread, pineapple, and spice. After a few seconds, it revealed a note of freshly baked brownies, bee honey, wax, cake, and marzipan. It smells like chocolate powder, similar to Nesquik. A second sniff brought out yeasty notes. The aroma is exceptionally good. If the aroma was good, the taste was extraordinary. It features chocolate, brownies, bee honey, and hazelnut. In Ecuador, we have chocolate-covered banana bits from a brand called "Republica del cacao" (meaning cocoa republic); it tastes exactly like that. A third taste brought notes of marshmallows dipped in chocolate fondue, coconut, and almonds, with milk chocolate. This is a dream dram. The aftertaste is very pleasant, with hints of salt, pepper, and ginger. The initial sip was quite spicy, but the second sip changed everything. There's a very subtle yet incredibly elegant smoky note, reminiscent of tobacco leaf and coconut. Overall, before even tasting it, I thought, "this is going to be good; there's no way the distillery owner would name a bad whisky after herself." And guess what? It wasn't just good, it was FANTASTIC. I even had the Glendronach Yoda on the same tasting night, and I can assure you I will remember this dram for ages, possibly forgetting the "Glendro". My score for this wonderful single malt is a well-earned 95 out of 100, and it might even deserve more; perhaps I'm not being entirely fair. Cheers.

Nose: Vanilla, flowers, dried grass, caramel, and candy apple. Palate: Sweetness, apple, scorched caramel, and preserved fruit. Finish: A medium-length finish. Sweetness, powdered sugar, caramel apple, and pear. A hint of subtle wood lingers. A delightful, sweet, and summery drink. It possesses numerous layers of taste, primarily sweet, but with a considerable presence of fruit and wood characteristics. An excellent warm-weather dram, offering good complexity for a young spirit. I enjoyed this sufficiently to purchase a bottle immediately following the tasting.

Mild and light on the nose. Medium complexity. Flavors of fortified wine & sea salt detected. Truly delightful.

It's acceptable. I was previously unaware of this producer.