Ancnoc 12Y Single Malt 700 mL

Nose: an aggressive pepperiness bites deep into the usual grassy maltiness and coal smoke. Excellent depth and complexity, though slightly more aggressive, if younger, in style than of old. Taste: absolutely fabulous, near-perfect, malt arrival, perhaps the most clean, yet intense of any in Scotland. The complexity is staggering with not only multi-layers of malt but a distant peat and oak infusion. Finish: deliciously spicy. Balance: if there is a more complete 12-year-old Speyside malt on the market, I have yet to find it. A malt that should adorn a shelf in every whisky-drinking home.