Mannochmore is a very recent distillery - it only opened in 1971 - and was closed from '85 to '89. In the 1990s it became "known" for the jet-black Loch Dhu ("Black Lake") bottling, which was, frankly, a curiosity or novelty. It's owned by Diageo, which means it's usually consigned to blend fodder except through independent bottlers.
At last! The final sample I had at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") October outturn. It's a Mannochmore, aged 12 years in a first fill custom-toasted American and European oak hogshead (!). Bottled at 58.4% ABV. I have only had one other Mannochmore, which was a Signatory bottling, I think provided by Rob Martin. So, this should be interesting.
Another new distillery for me! Mannochmore is another fairly anonymous Diageo distillery, located in Elgin in the Speyside region. It's pretty young - founded in 1971 - and was shuttered between 1985 and 1989 and only resumed full production in 1992. According to Wikipedia, starting in 1995 it shared its employees with Glenlossie, and thus only produced for half the year; this was corrected in 2008, when it gained its own staff and now produces all year, every year.
