Origin: Lowlands (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 58.6%ABV
Ageing cask: Ex-Bourbon
Chillfiltered: No
Added colouring: No
Average price: € 140.00
Owner: Annandale Distillery
Official website: www.annandaledistillery.com
At their debut, and with the need to kickstart cash flow, each new distillery generally enters the market with non-age-statement bottlings (the so-called NAS), while waiting to offer their first declared aging upon reaching an important maturation milestone.
And so did Annandale, which after proposing several single cask of its own peated and unpeated whisky line (respectively, Man O’Sword and Man O’ Word), has released their first ten-year-old, still in double version.
Tasting today, I have in the glass the peated whisky cask #39, a refill ex-bourbon, which produced 239 bottles at the end of 2025.
Tasting Notes
A fresh and fruity nose, with a soft roundness that blends golden apple, peach, apricot, ripe banana with sweet notes of maple honey, sugar coated almonds, buttercream, and white chocolate. Very pastry-like, with smoke appearing from afar, amidst the toasting of wood and freshly popped popcorn. Trifle. The addition of water warms the aromas, enhancing creamy pastry tones.
On the palate, the smoky part remains in the background, although slightly more pronounced than on the nose, and evident in length (always vegetal), leaving space for fruit and pastry, softened by a lively spicy component (black pepper, ginger, anise, cinnamon) and a slightly bitter note of licorice root and quinine. In length, a hint of menthol emerges. Water enhances the vegetal and bitter aspects.
Finale quite long, extending the intertwining of sweetness and vegetal notes, with the smoke of extinguished bonfires painting the palate.
Review: Reflecting on the old taste definitions of scotch expressed regionally, the peatiness of this whisky is truly an expression of the Lowlands: gentle, polite, evident only when it’s time to say goodbye. A solid dram, perhaps lacking a bit of excitement, but well-constructed.
Vote: 86/100