More Mannochmore


June 17, 2024

More Mannochmore de la Muerte

If you knew how ashamed I am of this headline. It is often said that Mannochmore is a workhorse for Diageo's blends and is only very discreetly offered officially. Yet, it could have had its moment of glory during the era of the cult Loch Dhu, there was also the Rare Malt, and it seems to me that today, Mannochmore is still offered within the discreet Flora & Fauna series, as we will see. For it is with this F&F that we will begin our little session, if you don't mind...

The woodpecker is the mascot of
Mannochmore within Diageo (oiseaux.net)

Mannochmore 12 yo (43%, OB, Flora & Fauna, +/-2023)

Let us recall that Mannochmore was only established in the early 1970s, during the last wave of Scotch whisky expansion before the Whisky Loch (Exclusive WF Interactive estimation: production and stock twelve years prior minus current sales equals the level of the Whisky Loch). That's the sporty side of this business. We quite enjoyed a 2005 version of this F&F (WF 83), noting that the label has slightly evolved, with the woodpecker moving from the bottom to the top of the label. Colour: white wine. Nose: it's truly pure malt, featuring dough and porridge, accompanied by touches of ink, a hint of rubber (light sulphur), and orchard apples (for cider). It evolves towards muesli and damp clay. I quite like this very natural and unpretentious aspect - that's putting it mildly. Mouth: a lot of apple, green melon, barley syrup, and lime, then a bit of pepper and cinnamon. It remains simple but truly pleasant, entirely in its natural state. Finish: medium length, with the return of pepper, a very slight cardboard note in the aftertaste, while the green melon persists and asserts itself. Comments: it does the job very well, without fanfare.
SGP: 541 - 83 points.

Mannochmore 2010/2024 (48%, Wilson & Morgan, oloroso sherry finish, casks #12071-72)

Colour: gold. Nose: an abundance of fine shoe polish at first, chrome polish, slag, basalt, and Italian espresso coffee (which means better than elsewhere, doesn't it). It remains dry, with touches of leather, old book, and Italian car exhaust (the kind usually offered in red). Finally, there's some almond paste. I find this nose very Italian, don't ask me why, even though it's the oloroso that has done much of the job here. Mouth: very fine dry sherry, with a semi-peppery, semi-oxidative quality. The green walnuts are back, and since we're in Italy, I even find some amaro, Cynar, and a hint of triple-sec... French triple-sec, of course. No need to exaggerate. Finish: quite long, very balanced. One could easily enjoy this with a good espresso after a meal. There's rather a café latte note in the aftertaste. Just to remind you of the New York recipe for a latte: take a coffee and add $5.00. Comments: are all these 'Italian' sensations just the fruit of my imagination? How would one know? In any case, I greatly appreciate this finishing work on a little Mannochmore, it's very well done.
SGP: 462 - 87 points.

Mannochmore 12 yo 2012/2024 (51.5%, Whisky Dudes, cask #2315, 162 bottles)

From first a refill butt then a fresh PX barrique for around two years. So this one too should be all about sherry. Colour: gold. Nose: new wellies and scuba diving suit upfront, then quite an avalanche of green walnuts. Some meatiness too, Chinese instant noodles 'beef flavour', beef jerky, venison… This little Mannochmore could well provide our daily dose of protein. Protein is important, after all. With water: lovely notes of sesame and toasted pine nuts, polenta, apple peel… Mouth (neat): much fruitier, almost giving the impression that the oloroso is passing the baton to the PX, though a peppery sulphur note remains in the background. Note that these sulphur sensations are not always faults, quite the contrary, they are part of the profile of many distilleries, regardless of the casks. With water: the pepper returns to the forefront. Finish: long, with some bitter orange. Comments: a bit of a brawl in the glass. Lots of action in this Mannochmore, I really like it.
SGP: 562 - 84 points.

Mannochmore 14 yo 2008/2022 (58%, Finn Thomson, cask #02104, 302 bottles)

A similar arrangement, refill then a finishing in PX. Let's see if there's a Turbo Look effect (apologies, only old Porsche enthusiasts might get that). Colour: lighter gold. Nose: it's more discreet this time, leaning towards sunflower oil, white bread, cane sugar syrup (quite astonishing to find so much of it here), candied citrus, and muesli… Very nice nose. With water: absolutely beautiful! I must admit, I'm surprised, this is in the same league as the excellent W&M, in my opinion. Orange ice cream and sultanas, enjoyed by the Bosphorus (steady on, S.). Mouth (neat): the citrus is back, with just a bit of pepper. Well, quite a bit of pepper, and honey, even sugarcane honey. This is the most well-behaved PX dulce in the world. With water: absolutely excellent. Oranges, pepper, and honey. We must try this. Finish: long, with green pepper taking the lead. Very warming in the throat, it could replace a scarf in winter. Comments: honestly, I wasn't sure about the idea of tasting six Mannochmores in one go, but I am very pleasantly surprised so far.
SGP: 562 - 87 points.

Mannochmore 2011/2023 (59.6%, Spencer Collings, 50th anniversary, Muscat cask, cask #SC68)

No further info about that 'Muscat cask', which kind of muscat was it (there are dozens), and from which country? I suppose we are splitting hairs here (who said as usual?), so let's move on... Colour: full gold. Nose: this isn't a wildly aromatic, over-the-top muscat, but rather, we find apricot, mirabelles, panettone, and focaccia, with restrained Turkish delight, yellow flowers like broom, and meadow honey… So, everything is fine, madame la marquise (an old French song). With water: even more panettone. You know I'm the President of the Panettone Club of Alsace, right? Mouth (neat): very good, quite straight, fruity, with a somewhat vinous side but lively and fresh, still on those mirabelles and pink grapefruit. Furthermore, the honey continues to set the pace. With water: no change. Finish: fairly long, more herbaceous and a bit rooty, but that's normal. Peppery aftertaste, a sign of a very active cask and thus modernity. Comments: I could be wrong, but this doesn't seem like Andalusian moscatel. So, what is it then?
SGP: 651 - 86 points.

We'll finish with a review of this RM...

Mannochmore 22 yo 1974/1997 (60.1%, OB, Rare Malts)

A profoundly charitable soul has passed on this Mannochmore to me because I have a raw score floating about on WF, meaning I must have tasted it around 2002 or earlier. The score was very low (WF 65), yet I recall absolutely nothing about it. Thus, in the spirit of our Grand Cultural Revision (?), we shall re-taste it and possibly update our official score. Does that sound agreeable? It's worth noting that the Rare Malts were likely, even more so than the Classic Malts, the Yardbirds of malt whisky. I would encourage the younger generation to acquire them at auctions, and not be deterred by slightly low levels, somewhat crinkled foils or capsules, or corks that now invariably snap. These whiskies are so robust and potent that they could withstand a century of exposure to air (I exaggerate, prepare replacement corks!). Colour: pale gold. Nose: I was wrong. I think I'll permanently delete the few unnoted scores still lurking on the woeful website you see before you. Panettone once again, orange blossom water, oriental pastries (we think fondly of Gaza), figs, chalk, and vanilla, with hints of ink and daily newspaper (not online, of course), orange cake... With water: I am thoroughly ashamed. Mouth (neat): I must have been completely inebriated back then, as I can't find any other explanation; spirits have long been the only psychotropic substances I used to indulge in (But it's been a long time since I became as sober as a camel). Beeswax, citron, lemon juice, a touch of agave (mezcal), chalk... How could I have been so off the mark at the time? With water: how delightful! Finish: very long, with wax and grapefruit. Absolutely flawless. Comments: quick, find an excuse... Okay, know that back then, many houses were sending supposedly sealed samples, not with Parafilm, but with Scotch tape or Chatterton. This occasionally still happens. When samples were filled to the brim, a bit of whisky could 'lick' the Scotch tape during transport, for instance, in flight or with temperature changes, say from 10 to 30°Celsius. Later, as conditions changed, these tiny amounts of alcohol could seep back into the bottle or remain trapped under the adhesive strip. In any case, this could completely ruin your spirit, making it bitter and 'chemical'. In the vast majority of instances, this was noticed, but of course, no one is perfect, and it might have been assumed these flaws were inherent to the spirit. This is possibly what happened with this RM over twenty years ago. Does that sound like a valid excuse?
SGP:651 - 90 points.

(Thanks a bunch, Lars!)

Check the index of all Mannochmore we've tasted so far