Mannochmore 1984 GM

‘Whisky for Armagnac fans’
N: A decidedly Armagnac note presides over my initial nosings. I’d say sherry has much to do with its oddness. I’ll let it sit for a bit. What emerges are richer butter-oils, a spirity barley mash, lightly polished furniture, some sap, some green notes, a slight rubbery sherry, soft-icing on sponge, chocolate covered melon?…. - all of which is decidedly old skool in style. Theres rather a lot of info here and the more i dig, the more treasures i find. It’s official, its a treasure hunt dram! - I haven’t had one of those in a while. Interestingly when i go back to it, its the armagnac quality which returns immediately, like a 1950’s Dupeyron with about 20% [10-12yo] single malt added. Dried ginger develops later on, goji berries, over-ripe oranges……  Interesting-to-good nose.
T: The oddness continues on arrival and what develops is an oily, rubbery, sherried, armagnac-malt,…….turning to a paper-mache-chalky-clay-mulch with a dry astringency that quashes and closes the palate somewhat, those fruits are almost putrid. What is clear is that there isn’t a great deal of age here, it’s somewhat rough, theres no getting away from it.
F: Flavour-wise, whats left? A clay-like, slightly cocoa-powder, dry, malt-like armagnac. Weird
C: This has some all-round power for a 40%’er and takes some water too. I’d like to compare this with a Bowmore 15 at 48%, is that a thing? i think i just want to try the Bowmore 15 at cask strength - i digress. Back to the Mannochmore, this has so many flaws and yet its such fun, and such trouble all at once. If there was a graph where the X axis showed ‘roughness’ and the Y axis showed ‘enjoyment’, this would show a rather a surprising, steep, ascending line. Scores an 82 [83 at best] but, such fun. [Btl code: IE/CIH]

Scores a C [82>83]