There we were, one fine summer evening… back from a day of catching great music at Nurnberg’s Bardentreffen festival. As the sun set, it was still clearly a gin & tonic kind of evening… however as my companions are also fellow whisky aficionados we simply could not call it a night without a wee nip! Nicely poised on the “top shelf’, this beautiful Mannochmore beckoned… simply too enticing to resist.

This is the 2nd Mannochmore I’ve tried from the Chorlton La Nouvelle Vague series. I missed being able to purchase it when first released in the UK and was exceedingly thankful a few eventually made their way to The Netherland’s Whisky.Base, enabling me to have it shipped directly to Deutschland.

As for the whisky…. read on…

Mannochmore 13 year 59% 162 bottles

• Nose – Mmmmm fruits! pears, plums shifting into dried fruit… like trail mix with coconut flakes, raisins, nuts and more… then shifted further into banoffee, vanilla, creamy… then a tropical delight with pineapple, caramel, raisins – think a rich pineapple upside down cake… further evolved into lemon curd, waxy, shortbread, honey sweetness… with a hint of amaretto…
• Palate – Oh my! Very clear its higher proof, intense and flavourful with a nice spice kick, think banana bread that is generous with nuts, toffee
• Finish – The slightly bitter nutty element carries through – almond or roasted hazelnuts – or perhaps something more like chikki – a kind of Indian peanut brittle

I expected another delightful summery dram… it delivered that and more! It is one of those fruity sunshine whiskies… however, at full cask strength, it is intense and powerful on the palate. But wow! That nose – so delicious and intoxicating! Just makes you come back over and over and over for a blissful whiff!

Curious, we added a few drops of water…. on the nose it simply made it sweeter and fruitier with a citrus twist – made me think of lemon meringue pie. While on the palate, it smoothed out the intensity while retaining the voluptuous fruity element chased by sweet spices. And with that yummy sweet and salty nutty finish? Put simply, this is a summer dram that invites you to simply slow down, savor and enjoy.

Above all – that nose! Better than perfume… even after the last sip, the aromas in the glass were so sweetly fragrant. Such a treat!

What did David have to say? Here is what he shared in his release email:

So, the first new bottling is this 13-year-old Mannochmore. The cask yield for this was a bit of a disaster (about 100 fewer bottles than I’d expected, probably due to a slow undetected leak…).

On the nose: lemon syrup, limoncello, lemongrass (there’s a theme emerging!) plus orange barley sugar and a little honey. I also find some spearmint chews, and a touch of minerality and something a little bit beery (or maybe pet nat yeastiness for the hipster crowd!).

The palate has a rich, almost syrupy/waxy texture, with tons of clean, sweet lemon, menthol, and balanced by some butterscotch and millionaire’s shortbread. The finish is clean, citrussy (surprise!), slightly salty and honeyed. I wrote “awesome” in my tasting notes which is not something I am typically wont to do.

This is an impeccable whisky for the spring/summer. Wonderfully textured spirit given a good dollop of sweetness from an active cask. I think we’ll all be talking more about Mannochmore in the future.

I purchased it in June 2022 from Whisky.base for EUR 96 plus shipping. (originally £78.50).

Here are a few more from La Nouvelle Vague series:

• Mannochmore 12 year 58.7% – A delightful summery dram.
• Orkney 15 year 57.1% – Outstanding! A kaleidoscope of aromas then a richly complex palate and stellar finish
• Croftnegea (Loch Lomond) 13 year 53.9% – Delightful with such a contrast between the aromas and palate, quite dynamic on the nose and subtle yet lovely on the palate
• Orkney (Highland Park) 22 year 53.4% – Special treat, please linger and enjoy

Here is the full set of Chorlton‘s sampled til date from the L’Ancien Régime series:

• Blair Athol 12 years 56.6% – Nurnberg lebkuchen of chocolate and gingerbread in a glass!
• Ruadh Maor (Glenturret) 8 year 62.5% – Seasoned meats and fried snacks…. a chameleon quality that evolved differently in each glass
• Mackmyra 12 years 50.2% – Fresh, clean, cherry wood and honey
• Miltonduff 9 year 58.3% – Creamy dessert with fruits, breakfast cereals… in short delicious!
• Miltonduff 11 years 62.0%  – Great contrast between fruity nose and surprisingly rich palate
• Orkney 9 year 63.1% – Copper, minerals, salted caramel, and smoke, all beautifully balanced
• Tomintoul 14 year 57.6% – Jammy cookies and cakes with sweet spices

With more coming up soon (I hope!)….

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All the Chorlton‘s I’ve tried so far are from the L’Ancien Régime series – with a gorgeous consistency to the labels.

However this Mannochmore comes from a different series – La Nouvelle Vague – with delightful period stylized labels. I couldn’t resist throwing a bouquet of flowers into the mix with my photo!

As for the whisky…. read on…

Mannochmore 12 years 58.7% 108 bottles

• Nose – Yummy, a fruit basket in a glass! Generous cherries, vanilla sponge cake, amaretto, flowery, fresh, beeswax candle, herbal
• Palate – Toffee, sweet spices, fruity… after some time – yup there is the pineapple and mango… the fruity fabulous quality fully comes through…
• Finish – Stays… long, lingering, more of that toffee, sweet spices… mmmmm…..

There was a delightful summery quality to this whisky. I found a citrus twist whereas another lady did not. Which is completely normal – different conditions, different glasses, different palates and persuasions.

So whether we found spring, summer or fall in the character of this whisky, did we like it? Absolutely without a doubt!  We really appreciated the subtle contrast between aromas and palate – similar vein but sufficiently different to keep us fully engaged.

A beautifully well rounded whisky – the kind you are quite happy to curl up, sip, enjoy.

What did David have to say? As it isn’t on his website, I’ve copied from his email which prompted this purchase!

And next is a 12yo Mannochmore. This continues the summery theme with a very clean, citrussy and herbal nose. I get melon, bergamot, lemon posset, posh olive oil, vanilla cream and a bit of lavender.

The neat palate is quite intensely tart at first, then sweet – like lemon sherbet, or biting into a kumquat. Wakes up the ol’ taste buds! The development then is on mango jam, roasted pineapple and a touch of peanut brittle in the aftertaste. With water everything is much softer, adding some Bakewell tart, orange, and cream soda.

A good example of the distillery character, this, and great fun to play with adding water. We got just 108 bottles from this bourbon barrel at 58.7%, and they’re available for £57.50 each.

I am so glad I managed to grab this while it was still available!

Here is the full set of Chorlton‘s sampled:

• Blair Athol 12 years 56.6% hogshead undiluted, uncoloured, unchill filtered, 1 of 268 bottles (BA 12)
• Mackmyra 12 years 50.2% bourbon barrel, undiluted, uncoloured, unchill filtered, 1 of 278 bottles (MC 12)
• Miltonduff 11 years 62% 1st fill bourbon, 1 of 176 bottles (MD 11)
• Tomintoul 14 year 57.6% Sherry butt, undiluted, uncoloured, unchill filtered, 1 of 455 bottles (TM 14)

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