Mannochmore 12 Years Old Flora and Fauna (43%, OB, 2016)

Whisky Review

• Category: Speyside single malt scotch whisky
• Origin: Mannochmore Distillery
• Bottling: Diageo
• ABV: 43%
• Cost: £46.33

What they say:

Mannochmore distillery stands a few miles south of Elgin in Morayshire. The nearby Millbuies Woods are rich in birdlife, including the Great Spotted Woodpecker. The Distillery draws process water from the Bardon Burn which has its source in the Mannoch Hills and cooling water from the Gedloch Burn and Burn of Foths. Mannochmore single malt whisky has a light, fruity aroma, and a smooth, mellow taste.

What I say:

Continuing our current sampling of the old (previously United Distillers and Vintners / UDV but latterly Diageo) Flora and Fauna bottlings, this 12 year old from Mannochmore still represents (as with many of the others) the only standard official bottling out of this distillery.

Colour:

Light champagne gold (7/20), medium-sized tears & medium legs

Nose:

Mellow & fruity, biscuity malt, malted milk and lemon puff biscuits, fruit salad, apple, pear, melon, orange zest, grapefruit, lemon & lime, slightly dusty, flour, cake batter, vanilla, coconut, Victoria sponge cake

Taste:

Smooth & light, cereal barley malt, fruity with hints of praline, white pepper spice, thins a little to give grapefruit,  biscuit, lemon & lime, cream & a hint of vanilla, with a sharpness of slightly bitter oak wood

Finish:

Medium-long, peach, fudge, nutty almond? peanut brittle, a pinch of salt perhaps?

Overall:

Nice & varied – not as simple as I have found some of the other lesser-known Flora and Fauna bottlings. With Mannochmore only established in 1971 and having a varied past of closures and intermittent operation, and producing the infamous black ‘Loch Dhu’ whisky there is little surprise this distillery has remained obscure.

Score: 83/100

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