The Basics:

Character: Fragrant, grassy and herbal.

Score: 81/100

The details:

Mannochmore sprouted up at the tail end of the post-war Scotch boom in 1971. Like most distilleries built prior to the last couple of decades–especially those built in the 1960s and 70s!–it was built to provide fillings for blends, specifically the Haig and Dimple blends. 

It shares a site with Glenlossie, another distillery not widely known or celebrated, but one with a certain renown among blenders and professional whisky critics. To an even greater extent than its near neighbor, Mannochmore has flown very much under the radar through much of its still relatively brief existence.

A rare exception to its obscurity occurred in the 1990s when Mannochmore provided the spirit for the infamous “Black Whisky,” Loch Dhu. A marketing ploy, Loch Dhu was colored a most unwhisky-like shade of…well, not quite black, but very close to it, likely through a hefty attack with spirit caramel. Loch Dhu was quickly withdrawn from the market (although for awhile, remaining bottles were something of a collectors item), and Mannochmore returned to its quiet, unobtrusive existence with a single regular official bottling in the Flora and Fauna range. As with other arcane Diageo distilleries, there are occasional one-off bottlings as a special release, and there are at least some independent bottlings.

Mannochmore’s 12 year old entry in the Flora and Fauna range is a pleasant, rather grassy, herbal whisky. Although Diageo has an allergy to providing any sort of transparency on their bottling practices, I suspect that most of the Flora and Fauna range is at least not colored (although the meager 43% abv suggests chillfiltering); Mannochmore is a rather pale whisky, and its character suggests refill wood to match the light color. If you need huge, in-your-face flavor, it is not the whisky for you. Taken on its own terms, it’s an appealing enough entry in a more nuanced style of whisky, although you can probably find better examples. In short, it’s a perfectly fine dram (as are almost all the whiskies in the range), but it’s mainly around for people who want to try everything and not for the more casual drinker.

Mannochmore 12 (Flora and Fauna), 43% abv

Tasting notes:

Nose: Fragrant and herbal. Sandalwood. Grassy, sharp, fresh. Dry. Mild, and malty/grainy notes. Just a hint of sweetness.

Body: Rather light, but slippery and surprisingly mouth-coating.

Palate: Roasty—burnt malt, or burnt grass? Cedar. Some astringency—cleaning fluid. Rubber. Herbal—bitter herbs—oregano? Dry, without any obvious wood influence. Rounded. Then candy corn? Something meaty, but not beef. Delicious, balanced, quite appealing. Soapy.

Finish: Gentle and slowly fading. On the sweet side.
Score: 81/100

Who should buy it?: This is another whisky that is really best left to collectors and completionists. It’s solid stuff, but you can find many better whiskies in a similar vein that are more readily available. If you love the Flora and Fauna series, or want to try an official release from every distillery, this is totally worth your while. If not, skip on down.

Overall thoughts: A solid, appealing dram in a rather subdued, grassy, herbal vein that has fallen out of fashion a bit as drinkers tend to demand over-sized flavor. A pleasant, if not an exemplary, example of its style.

If you enjoyed this review and would like to make a small donation to support this site, please click here.