Knockdhu Distillery
Knockdhu Distillery
5
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
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5.0
37 reviews
Excellent
36
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1
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Simon R
Nottingham, UK38 contributions
Aug 2022 • Couples
A fantastic afternoon spent exploring this wonderful distillery. The tour combined a great blend of humour and information. It’s not some big glossy commercial tour, but the distillery itself it’s understated, informative and hugely enjoyable. We saw aspects of the distilling process you don’t often get to see - the number of distilleries using worm tubs for example is pretty limited in the 21st century.
We were made to feel really welcome by all the staff we met and the whisky itself is superb and excellent value for money. (It’s sold under the name Ancnoc rather than Knockdu to prevent confusion with another distillery- Knockando, which is in Moray).
I’ve visited more than a dozen distilleries and this is right up there as one of the best whisky experiences I’ve had.
Knockdu are to be commended for what they are doing which is celebrating and promoting the distillers art and producing great tasting spirit.
We were made to feel really welcome by all the staff we met and the whisky itself is superb and excellent value for money. (It’s sold under the name Ancnoc rather than Knockdu to prevent confusion with another distillery- Knockando, which is in Moray).
I’ve visited more than a dozen distilleries and this is right up there as one of the best whisky experiences I’ve had.
Knockdu are to be commended for what they are doing which is celebrating and promoting the distillers art and producing great tasting spirit.
Written August 25, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Duncan I
Inverness, UK106 contributions
Apr 2024 • Friends
Fantastic, personalised tour. We were lucky enough to be shown round by the distillery manager - Gordon. Having visited many distilleries over the years, Gordon was kind enough to tailor the tour based on our experience. He offered many snippets of information about the distillery and highlighted points of difference as well as showing equipment or corners of the distillery which offered new insight for us. A wonderful, laid back and insightful visit topped off with a relaxed tasting with a generous and informative host.
Written April 10, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
nwaynesworld
Nova Scotia2,755 contributions
May 2023
Old distillery, not as “pretty” as many others we visited. However, the tour and the tour guide we both excellent. The distillery was built to make whiskey and not to put on tour for the tourists! Great whiskey tasting at the end of the tour. For me, it was one of the best whiskey tours we had.
Written June 10, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Alan D
Banff, UK1,818 contributions
May 2014 • Friends
I had family and friends up for a whisky tour and anCnoc was a must see distillery, we arrived at 10am and was given one the best tours I had from Alistair, I have visited other distilleries and thought not much will be new, but what a surprise, he showed us two items the workers would have owned one was a length copper tube called a dog, apparently the workers used to fill it with whisky and take the dog for a walk "great story" also a small copper cup we could just Imagine the guy who kept the fires burning sitting with his feet up, smoking his pipe, and drinking whisky from this little copper mug, we all thought what a great story, plus the dram at the end, and of course buying a few bottles, they also do a very nice gin I bought that also
Written May 15, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
dalwharr
1 contribution
May 2016 • Solo
I visit distilleries throughout the county regularly, by bicycle. It has been my 36 cut. This is a place, where is a lot to see for every whisky fan. The first. The distillery has a nicely maintained kiln, involved to the tour. There are not many distilleries in Scotland, where you can have a look beneth your foots, through a mesh floor, into a stove. The kiln room is full of memorables and the tour begins here, Loraine, who guided myself been very competent with a plenty of stories at the hand. Not only kiln is interesting. I have never seen a mill before so close and from all the floors, including a hopper and a stone trap. The distillery runs 6 washbacks, plus 2 ones in a separate room (in the kiln). They are used for additional fermentation. The Mash tun is an interesting feature too. It is made of stainless steel, but with a copper lid. Stills have ball parts to increase reflux. Condensers. Wow. Knckdhu runs traditional condensers made of worm tubs. But the cooling wessel has been made of metal, instead of wood. It is located very high above the ground. You must walk a lot of mesh stairs to reach the water level. It is nothing for persons suffering vertigo. But who does not, will be reawarded by a spectacural view around the spot. The whisky was nice to taste too, I think is very old fashioned and covers many preferences, including peaty ones.
Conclusions. It has been very informative tour, definitely stands among my best favourite ones. This is a place, where the past meets the present and whisky is heart-made. Thanks a lot, you do a great job!
Conclusions. It has been very informative tour, definitely stands among my best favourite ones. This is a place, where the past meets the present and whisky is heart-made. Thanks a lot, you do a great job!
Written May 25, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thetravelinglou
Ireland76 contributions
Mar 2019 • Friends
We’re actually just back from this tour. I found it on trip advisor and it beautifully delivered. We phoned to book on the tour on the same day. We were a party of three were surrounded by the most delightful dogs there. Lorraine our tour guide gave us the most passionate tour of the distillery. Funny, informative, she even recommended other distilleries to visit. We gained great incite, also Ian was a pleasure he popped in and out to chat. Just a complete delight. Highly recommend this tour, my Irish boyfriend loved it. We also got to take samples away with us which Lorraine picked. The tour is free but the distillery welcomes donations which we happily left.
A must see. Thank you.
A must see. Thank you.
Written March 26, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jan D
Brussels, Belgium74 contributions
May 2018 • Couples
Staying in Portgordon, it's actually our landlord who suggested to pay a visit to this distillery. He made the appointment and off we were. We had a private tour of the whole place by one of the members of staff, who had a great sense of humour and knew what she was talking about. Had two whiskies afterwards ... and were flabbergasted to hear that we did not have to pay anything. We happily donated for charity, though.
Written March 20, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Crispin O
North Yorkshire, UK23 contributions
Aug 2018 • Family
I have been on several distillery tours, all of them very good, but this is in a class of its own. Knockdhu distillery, home of Cnocdhu single malt, is very pretty, small scale and old fashioned. It is someway away from Speyside and they are at pains to say they are highland not Speyside. They it is owned by Inver house. The whiskies are unfailingly well reviwed. There is no visitor centre as such, or shop selling whisky and gifts. You also need to book a slot for a tour in advance. So it’s not mainstream in the conventional sense. But what you get is far better. There is a real feeling here that the staff know what they are doing is unique and world class and they want to share it. There was an infectious, understated, pride and passion exuded during the tour by the tour guide and employees. They clearly really love making their whisky.
Written August 23, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
KemnayKing
Kemnay, UK378 contributions
Aug 2018 • Couples
We went here on a spur of the moment and so glad we did. There was only two of us and although we were out with tour times Lorraine our guide took us round anyway. Thouroghly enjoyed our tour and our guide was very knowledgeable and friendly plus we got a few drams at the end. The tour is free but you can donate money to one of their charities which are both very good causes. Recommend booking before hand as they run tours at 10am and 2pm. You can also take photos while you go around ( unlike the larger distilleries in the area) . If you are driving you get to take away samples which is recommend due to police patrolling the area. Although a small distillery it’s well worth the trip. May not show on some sat nav’s however if you put in the village of Knock you should get there.
Written August 3, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Daniel C
Taghazout, Morocco10 contributions
Jul 2017 • Friends
The Greeting
We visited the distillery (home of ancnoc single malt whisky) on the morning of Friday 21st July. We were met on arrival by Alistair and Frank(ie) and immediately noticed the relaxed demeanor when instructed to park 'wherever'.
We had a long conversation with both reference where we were from and the places we had visited whilst in Scotland.
The Tour.
We started the tour and realised immediately that this was going to be different. Non scripted, patient explanations, access all areas, unlimited photo opportunities, this was turning out to be a little gem.
We visited all parts of the distillery including, mill room, the old malting floor(now unused), mashing room, Washbacks, still room and dunnage warehousing. We were also shown the innovative cooling/heat recovery system in place.
Although having a modern twist this distillery is traditionally manually operated with the human touch very much in evidence. Although part of the Inver House portfolio the impression was one of a certain amount of freedom. This has paid dividends tenfold with a highly personalised tour and an excellent malt whisky.
We were joined at the end of the tour by both Gordon and Alistair the distillery manager and assistant manger. They both added their comments and stories to an already highly interesting and entertaining tour.
The Tasting.
The 12yr old ancnoc single malt formed the basis of the tasting with ancnoc rascan and ancnoc cutter (the latter two being peated) offerings following on.These are both no age statement (approx 9 years) offering mild and not so mild smokey undertones.
We were keen to try the 24yr old as this was on our purchase wish list, however there was no stock available for us to try or purchase. The one negative during what was an excellent tour.
Conclusion.
As a party of 7 (sometimes 8) we visited 15 distilleries 8 days and collectively placed this visit 2nd. High praise indeed. The tour took over 2 hours to complete with pride and passion evident in all 3 staff we encountered. The Highland setting is idellic, and within easy reach from our Speyside base.
This is one distillery well worth a visit.
We visited the distillery (home of ancnoc single malt whisky) on the morning of Friday 21st July. We were met on arrival by Alistair and Frank(ie) and immediately noticed the relaxed demeanor when instructed to park 'wherever'.
We had a long conversation with both reference where we were from and the places we had visited whilst in Scotland.
The Tour.
We started the tour and realised immediately that this was going to be different. Non scripted, patient explanations, access all areas, unlimited photo opportunities, this was turning out to be a little gem.
We visited all parts of the distillery including, mill room, the old malting floor(now unused), mashing room, Washbacks, still room and dunnage warehousing. We were also shown the innovative cooling/heat recovery system in place.
Although having a modern twist this distillery is traditionally manually operated with the human touch very much in evidence. Although part of the Inver House portfolio the impression was one of a certain amount of freedom. This has paid dividends tenfold with a highly personalised tour and an excellent malt whisky.
We were joined at the end of the tour by both Gordon and Alistair the distillery manager and assistant manger. They both added their comments and stories to an already highly interesting and entertaining tour.
The Tasting.
The 12yr old ancnoc single malt formed the basis of the tasting with ancnoc rascan and ancnoc cutter (the latter two being peated) offerings following on.These are both no age statement (approx 9 years) offering mild and not so mild smokey undertones.
We were keen to try the 24yr old as this was on our purchase wish list, however there was no stock available for us to try or purchase. The one negative during what was an excellent tour.
Conclusion.
As a party of 7 (sometimes 8) we visited 15 distilleries 8 days and collectively placed this visit 2nd. High praise indeed. The tour took over 2 hours to complete with pride and passion evident in all 3 staff we encountered. The Highland setting is idellic, and within easy reach from our Speyside base.
This is one distillery well worth a visit.
Written July 23, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I would like to know if there are planned tours so you don't have to drive!
Written July 13, 2017
Sorry for delay in replying but the distillery is quite out of the way so you'd need a car.
Written July 16, 2017
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