AnCnoc single malt whisky is the name for official bottlings from Knockdhu, a charming 19th century Speyside distillery that for many years was a quiet operator, happy to supply the blenders with excellent quality, robust Speyside single malt whisky.
That all changed in 2004, when Knockdhu’s owners Inver House (who had bought the distillery in 1988) pulled off a fantastic relaunch of Knockdhu’s AnCnoc single malt whiskies, earning the distillery some long-deserved recognition. Inver House was bought in 2001 by Pacific Spirits, who were themselves acquired subsequently by the Asian drinks company International Beverage Holdings in 2006, but the AnCnoc single malt whiskies have only grown in stature ever since and today are well-regarded by most whisky fans with more than a passing interest in the single malt category.
Interestingly, during the makeover process for the marketing relaunch Knockdhu’s traditional Speyside status was dropped and AnCnoc was rebranded as a Highland distillery. This self-reclassification was confirmed a few years later by the Scotch Whisky Regulations of 2009, which drew the legal boundaries of Speyside based on electoral wards rather than unimportant characteristics like character or tradition...
AnCnoc’s success goes to show what can be achieved with a great distillate and some genuine, sensible marketing efforts on behalf of the owners. It also makes you wonder what other distilleries could be capable of if their stocks and potential were taken seriously.
Founded: 1893
Stills: 1 Wash Still, 1 Spirit Still
Water Source: Knock Hill
Capacity: 2 Million Litres
Owners: Inver House (International Beverage Holdings)
1975-Present: Spice, Fruit, Polish And Smoke.
Knockdhu was owned by Diageo forerunner Scottish Malt Distillers up until 1983, when the distillery was closed as part of the swingeing cuts occasioned by the whisky industry’s catastrophic overproduction in the 1970s. The mothballed distillery was sold in 1988 to Inver House, who restarted production in 1989 and began their first steps towards marketing Knockdhu as a single malt with the release of the first official Knockdhu 12-year-old in 1990 and the first ever bottling of AnCnoc 12-year-old in 1993.
These initial whiskies from Knockdhu were not quite as distinctively spicy and fulsome as later bottlings would be, instead showing a softer, more middle-of-the-road heathery profile. However, there were also a pair of cask strength official bottlings of Knockdhu 21-year-old and 23-year-old in matte-effect black bottles released in 1999 and 2001 respectively. These were fantastic oily, citrussy, delicately smoky, and powerfully complex examples of the distillery’s whisky after longer ageing but are nowadays difficult to find.
As we can see above, the name on the bottlings had changed from Knockdhu to AnCnoc in 1993, but was then changed back to Knockdhu again around the turn of the millennium. This confusion wasn't great for Knockdhu, but it seems like it was all practice for Inver House because in 2003 they undertook a massive rethink of the brand.
Knockdhu's whisky was relaunched in 2004 as AnCnoc, with strikingly simple new white packaging that was both distinctive and unpretentious. The first new official release was a 12-year-old, closely followed by a 1990 vintage 14-year-old, and the whiskies themselves had clearly benefited from a bolder cask selection - these were warm, spicy, and fruity drams with an excellent balance between the classic Speyside characteristics and some much stronger, smoky Highland aspects.
A 30-year-old 1975 AnCnoc was launched in 2005, one of only a handful of long-aged expressions of Knockdhu. It was a fantastic bottling that can still be found occasionally at auction. This AnCnoc 1975 again benefited from careful cask selection that focused on a fine balance between bourbon and sherry casks, resulting in a big, spicy, resinous, whisky full of Christmas cake, vanilla, honey, and spicy/smoky notes.
Bottlings of AnCnoc have continued with the same consistency of quality ever since. Following the recent discontinuation of the much-loved AnCnoc 24-year-old, the core range presently consists of a 12-year-old bottled at 40%, a 16-year-old at 43% and an 18-year-old edition at 46%. These are supplemented by single cask editions, regular vintage bottlings at 13-15 years old and, since 2014, a variety of peated versions.
Peated malt whisky has been produced at Knockdhu since soon after the turn of the millennium, and today around 10% of the distillery’s 2 million litres per year output is heavily peated single malt whisky (45ppm). AnCnoc’s Peatheart, a no-age-statement smoky official bottling, was replaced in 2025 by AnCnoc Peated 10-year-old and 16-year-old, which were bottled at 40% and 43% respectively, and a new NAS bottling called AnCnoc Lightly Peated.
Knockdhu / AnCnoc has managed to build a reputable and strong brand without the use of gimmicks, silly finishings, or shockingly overpriced prestige bottlings. As one of the first old-school distilleries this century to undergo a successful modern rebrand, it’s to be hoped that AnCnoc’s excellent, honest, and unpretentious whisky-making will continue to set a fine example to the rest of the industry in years to come.