Scotch Whisky Review #437: Signatory Vintage Binny’s Pick Mannochmore 11 Year Dechar/Rechar Cask (2010)

Picture courtesy of /u/federalagents and features one of his doggos.

Distillery: Mannochmore.

Bottler: Signatory Vintage.

Region: Speyside.

Age: 11 Year. Distilled on June 25th 2010, bottled on March 10th 2022.

ABV: 57.8%. Cask Strength.

Cask Number: 7611.

Color: 0.3, Pale Gold. Natural Color and Non Chill Filtered.

This dram is the eleventh of 2022’s Christmas Countdown! Whiskies from previous years can be found here.

Every year, I look at the advent calendar offerings that pop up across the pond and think that it would be super cool to do something like that (it is actually the inspiration for my review spree in December). Turns out, I wasn’t the only one who wanted to do one so between /u/federalagents, /u/DangerousDoorknob, and I we put our own together! This is the tenth dram of the calendar. It was reviewed partially blind as in I know the whiskies in the calendar but not the order.

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Nose: It is super fruity from the get go. Pineapple, prickly pear, dragonfruit, and lychee are notes that stand out for me. A bit of something akin to greenery and and sharp, lemongrass is what comes to mind.

Palate: Drinks a bit hot and definitely needs water to open things up. It seems to be a mix of malty, creamy, and fruity flavors. Leftover milk from Frosted Flakes starts things off. Tropical fruits start to take over quickly, though the creaminess remains. I’m reminded heavily of Thai sticky rice with mango (Khao Niaow Ma Muang, I believe) as well as coconut meat. A bit of toffee nut syrup comes out as well to give this another element with the nuttiness.

Finish: Medium in length. There is loads of fruit here in the finish as well. Prickly pear is the main fruit note with a bit of something between Thai sticky rice and a rice pudding.

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Guess: Scotland. Malt. Island. 15-19 Year. Ex-Bourbon. 56-60%.

Reveal: Signatory Vintage Binny’s Pick Mannochmore 11 Year Dechar/Rechar Cask (2010).

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Conclusion: When /u/federalagents

posted the reveal to this bottle, I honestly couldn’t believe him. I’m still at awe of how lightly colored something out of a dechar/rechar cask comes off but at the end of the day, whatever the folks at Signatory Vintage did to this one has resulted in an absolute winner. The nose is a beautiful medley of tropical fruits and greenery. The palate balances notes that could come off as too heavy or too sugary very well with fruits and nutty notes. The finish is a wonderful bow on top of it all as well. Delightful dram all around! I would absolutely buy a bottle or three.

Final Score: 85.

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Scotch Whisky Review #437, Speyside Review #159, Whisky Network Review #592

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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 and I will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection if feasible.
• 85-89: Very good to amazing, almost the complete product and I’m likely wanting a bottle or two.
• 80-84: Quite good, pleasant overall though there is usually a few things that could be improved still.
• 75-79: Good, enjoyable to drink but ultimately flawed.
• 70-74: Alright, solid and 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.