Knockdhu – AnCnoc

Introduction:

Knockdhu, a small distillery in Speyside, offers an impressive range of official bottlings under the name An Cnoc. Despite its size, the distillery has two ranges: one featuring modern bottlings and another highlighting vintage releases. The modern range includes various age statements, such as 12 – year – old, 16 – year – old, 18 – year – old, 22 – year – old, 35 – year – old, Travel Retail Exclusive, 2000, and 1975 bottlings, each with its own distinct flavor and character. The vintage range is extensive, covering years from 1999 to 1975. Finding old bottlings with the distillery’s name is extremely rare.

Knockdhu introduced a range of peated whiskies in 2014, named after the tools used to harvest peat from the mosses. Independent bottlings from the distillery are highly scarce, with only a few by Adelphi in the early 1990s. Knockdhu is also a core blending component in the Inver House Blends.

Production:

Knockdhu sources its water from burns on the nearby Knock hill. The distillery has a production capacity of 1.5 million liters per year and uses a cast iron worm tub for cooling the freshly distilled spirit. Six wooden washbacks are utilized in the production process.

Pot Stills:

Knockdhu operates one wash still and one spirit still. The wash still has a capacity of 10,350 liters, while the spirit still has a capacity of 9,500 liters. Both stills have unusually tall and gradually narrowing conical necks, allowing for a high level of reflux.

Maltings:

While Knockdhu previously used only unpeated malts, they now incorporate some peated malts with a mild level of peating measuring around 20 ppm. Not all malts are peated, and the peated malts are specifically used for blending in the Inver House Blends. The distillery used to have its own floor maltings but now sources them from a nearby industrial source in Speyside.

Warehouse:

Knockdhu ages its malts in a combination of American Oak and Spanish Sherry casks. On-site dunnage warehouses are used for whisky maturation.

History:

Knockdhu distillery was established in 1894 by the Distiller’s Company Limited. Production started in 1894 but was temporarily closed in 1931. In 1933, the distillery reopened under Scottish Malt Distillers and operated successfully until 1983 when it was closed during an economic recession. Inver House purchased Knockdhu and resumed production in 1989. The distillery released its first official bottling in 1990, followed by the introduction of the name ‘An Cnoc’ in 1993 to differentiate it from Knockando. Ownership changed hands several times, with Pacific Spirits UK acquiring Inver House in 2001 and International Beverage Holdings acquiring Pacific Spirits in 2006. The distillery continues to thrive, and more official and vintage releases are expected.

Visitor’s Centre:

Knockdhu does not have an official visitor’s centre, but tours can be arranged by booking in advance. The distillery’s official website provides information on opening hours and contact details.

Visitor information:

Knockdhu Distillery
Knock
Huntly
Aberdeenshire
AB54 7LJ
Tel: +44 (0)1466-771223
Email: kennedyl@inverhouse.com