Whisky: Mannochmore 11 Year (2007), Ultimate Whisky Co. Cask 6682

Country/Region: Scotland/Speyside

ABV: 54.4%

Cask: Hogshead

Age: 11 Years (Distilled 27 April 2007, Bottled 18 Jan. 2019)

Nose: Orchard fruits, preserved citrus, cream cheese, marmalade, buttercream frosting,  subtle layers of grass, ginger, and a vegetal sweetness.

Palate: Medium-bodied and balanced with citrus, apple sauce, pencil shavings, butter, mild cream, a spirited prickle, and ginger-orange marmalade.

Finish:  The finish was medium-length with citrus, butter, and chalk.

Score: 4-5

Mental Image: Springing the Hour Hand Ahead

Narrative & Notes: The pleasant aroma of orchard fruit and citrus wafted out of the glass with apples, apple sauce, lemon peel, and preserved lemons. The fruits twisted around creamy and tangy notes of butter, cream cheese, and a big helping of buttercream frosting. Orange marmalade and ginger appeared with subtle layers of grassy and vegetal sweetness. Medium-bodied, though on the lighter end of that spectrum, the profile was balanced with an acidic burst of lemon, lime, orange, and apple sauce. Pencil shavings and wood appeared as the fruit faded with a lovely butter and cream that ran throughout. A touch of spirited pickle tickled on the back end with stem ginger, chalk, and orange marmalade. The finish was medium-length with citrus, butter, and chalk.

Though I do not live in a place that bothers with Daylight Savings related clock adjustments, I do recall the psychological pain of springing the clock forward an hour and losing an hour of sleep. I do not know if this dram was quite that same kind of pain, but it was very spring-like and simple— the sort of cost-effective bottle I bought many years ago to fill out an order, tasted once, and then banished to the back of the closet.

I had a few good Mannochmore recently and was inspired to look for this bottle again. Apparently, I was so unenthused with it when I last tried it that I did not even inventory it on my spreadsheet of bottles and samples. My feelings have changed just as little as the fill level of the bottle, and while there is nothing glaringly wrong here, the bottle remains incredibly boring. The elements themselves are fine, but somehow their totality feels less than the sum of their parts. The citrus notes are too acidic, and the creaminess only pushed them further away from any refreshing crispness, while a few drops of water only seemed to accentuate those elements further.

Overall, Mannochmore is a workhorse distillery for Diageo and not one that gets a lot of single malt love— from either Diageo or independent bottlers. Releases of Mannochmore malts come infrequently and in waves; the distillery used to feature heavily with SMWS though it now only appears irregularly. While I was not thrilled with this bottle, which reminded me heavily of Auchroisk, I wonder if, like Auchroisk, a few more decades in the cask might allow some real magic to happen.