In today’s review I’m having a look at the Nc’Nean Aon, and this particular Aon release was exclusively bottled for The Netherlands. In the Netherlands Nc’Nean is represented by Craft Spirits and Robbert and Riley made sure to pick a very special dram for us. This single cask Nc’Nean was first matured in ex-bourbon to get the classical Nc’Nean flavour profile, and then it was finished in an ex-madeira/ex-rum cask.
This finishing cask is where the magic happens. The cask started it’s live as a Madeira barrel, after which a rum was matured in it to create a Madeira finished rum. After the rum came Nc’Nean to snatch this barrel away on its next adventure. Only to be snatched away again by Craft Spirits to bottle it exclusively for The Netherlands.
The cask of this Nc’Nean Aon alone has traveled more than I have in the past few years. Which makes me hope that this particular single cask will have plenty of stories to tell on nose, palate, and finish. Let’s find out in today’s Tasting Notes of the Nc’Nean Aon for the Netherlands!
Tasting Notes: Nc’Nean Aon – Single Rum Cask For The Netherlands
Stats:
Age: 7 years old
ABV: 60,4% (120,8 proof)
Distillery: Nc’Nean
Natural Colour: Yes
Chill-filtered: No
Nose:
A beautiful mix of herbal and flowery elements welcomes you as you approach the glass, with a big whallop of honey for some lovely sweetness as well. A meadow filled with wildflowers comes to mind, with babbling brooks with some moss and driftwood elements as well. Touches of lemongrass, amber and fennel give a lovely bit of depth to the nose of this whisky.
Palate:
A big helping of brown sugar, with plenty of sugar waffles (not the brussels kind, but the ones from Liége) come to mind at first. But liquorice root syrup, kardemom and salted liquorice are clearly present as well. This is a dram of big bold flavours on the palate and it might be a bit hate it or love it for some, but personally I’m a fan!
Finish:
The finish of this Nc’Nean Aon is medium long with loads of salted liquroice, hints of liquorice root and just a touch of oatmeal porridge to bring a malty influence as well. If anything it ramps up what was on the palate, while shifting the focus more towards its liquorice elements.
Food Pairing:
This dram would go perfect with a nice steak tartare, as a vegetarian option bread dipped in olive oil and salt would also provide a very good option. But personally I’d go for a sweet option with this one with extra pure chocolate!
Verdict:
I really liked this Nc’Nean, I found it to hold much more pronounced flavours than most of their core range, while staying true to the distillery character at the same time. It’s bold, with plenty of complexity and has a fair bit of bite. This is no easy sipper, but I don’t mind that one bit!