anCnoc Peter Arkle Casks / 46%/ 0.7l

Peter Arkle, the famous Scottish graphic designer, grew up in Edinburgh, studied in London and now lives and works in New York.

The artist’s CV lists collaborations with such market giants as Nike and Starbucks, and his illustrations have been published in The New Yorker and Time Magazine, among others. In 2012, Arkle took on the graphic side of the anCnoc whisky edition for the Travel Retail chain. Casks is Peter Arkle’s second initiative, inspired by a maturing magazine. This time, the label and cardboard case are decorated with barrels, while the whisky itself is a marriage of distillates aged in American and European oak barrels, bottled without cold filtration, at 46% alcohol. 6,000 bottles were released.

Nose: sweet and spicy, vanilla, toffee, coconut flakes, buttered toast, lemons, apples, oak chips and a pinch of cinnamon.

Palate: mild and quite spicy, ginger, pepper, cloves, sponge cake, lemon peel, vanilla, toffee and a hint of leather.

Finish: medium long, with notes of bitter orange, pepper, leather and oak bitterness.