Scotch Whisky Review #246: Loch Dhu 10 Year The Black Whisky

Distillery: Mannochmore

Region: Speyside

Age: 10 Year

ABV: 40%

Price: Sample courtesy of /u/I_SAID_NO_GOLDFISH

Color: 2.5, Squid Ink.

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Nose: It’s quite musty with a slightly sweet element to it, like a sweet wine that is about to turn into vinegar. There’s a strong medicinal smell as well, particularly of the oriental medicine kind (한약). It reminds me of ssanghwa-tang (쌍화탕), a Korean medicinal tea made from a bunch of medicinal herbs along with some cinnamon and a hint of licorice. There’s an almost honeyed Ginseng smell as well. It is all quite strong and most definitely not for everyone.

Palate: It tastes exactly as it smells. More of that medicinal tea. More of the oriental medicine. It’s earthy with a tinge of sweetness.

Finish: Long. Musty oak is the main note. It’s joined by Ginseng, oriental medicine, and something artificial that I can’t quite place my finger on.

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Conclusion: If you ever want to know what oriental medicine tastes like and don’t want to spend the money on oriental medicine, this absolutely will give you the right flavors of it. Everything from the color (I had to ask /u/I_SAID_NO_GOLDFISH if he’d given me squid ink instead of a whisky!) to the smell, taste, and aftertaste just oozes oriental medicine. There are medicinal herbs, cinnamon, licorice, ginseng, a very earthy flavor set, with a tinge of honey to keep it from getting bitter. We say in Korean “it’s a flavor that makes you healthier” (건강해지는 맛) and that’s what I was thinking of while drinking this. I’ve struggled to rate this one. I personally like the flavor of oriental medicine (the wife calls me an old man in a young man’s body because of it) but I also know that most people will not enjoy it. So I’ve given this two ratings, one for where I feel the average person would probably rate it and one in parenthesis for what I think given that I enjoy the specific flavor of oriental medicine.

Final Score: 40 (78).

Scotch Whisky Review #246, Speyside Review #96, Whisky Network Review #376

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Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky.
• 85-89: Amazing, will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection (if feasible).
• 80-84: Very Good, maybe only one minor nitpick about the whisky keeping it here.
• 75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink.
• 70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.