This year’s Blind Tasting Competition has started, and it has done so in a great manner!

Best of Wines started their sample kit with this rather well aged Mannochmore for which virtually no-one scored a lot of points. I scored a whopping 0 out of a 100, mostly because I am utter trash at blind tasting competitions, and this is a left field whisky if there ever was one!

Sniff:
Rather old fashioned on the nose, with hints of gentle sherry. Oak, hessian and a whiff of cardboard. Wet soil, a bit of funk, dark chocolate, hazelnuts. Some oranges in the back.

Sip:
Very dry and rather sharp. Hessian, cardboard, white pepper, and sawdust. A hint of vanilla with some chocolate and orange pith. There’s a bitter edge to it, but in a good way. I think I’m getting some coastal notes of salinity too.

Swallow:
It stays old fashioned throughout, but the finish focuses on those slightly funky notes a bit more. Old barley, sawdust and dunnage warehouses. Orange pith, white pepper, a bit of sherry fruitiness too.

I really love this dram and I regret it only came in a 2cl sample. I still am not sure whether this should be an 89 or 90 pointer in my book. There is a lot of complexity to peel back and get to all the different layers of flavor.

Gorgeous stuff and quite regularly available still! Lately, as in, the last couple of years, I think G&M is on a roll with their Connoisseur’s Choice bottlings. There have been many semi-affordable gems from this range!

89/100