History

The distillery was founded in 1971 by John Haig & Co. Between 1985 and 1989, production was suspended and the distillery closed; it was then reopened and in 1992 started producing a Mannochmore single malt

Single malt whisky

Single malt whisky is a whisky made at one particular distillery from a mash that uses one particular malted grain, which is ordinarily barley.Single malts are typically associated with Scotland, though they are also produced in various other countries...

. In 1996 the black Loch Dhu ("Black Loch" in Scottish Gaelic) single malt whisky was introduced, and has been gaining market favour despite (or because of) the rather unusual appearance and taste. After a brief re-closure in 1995, the distillery only produces for twelve months and then has a break of twelve months alternating with the nearby Glenlossie distillery, with which it shares the employees.

As of 2008, Mannochmore distillery has been operated year round by its own crew of employees, though the (in)famous Loch Dhu has not been made since 1999.

Production

The water of the region Speyside, which the distillery belongs to, comes from Bardon Burn. The malt

Malt

Malt is germinated cereal grains that have been dried in a process known as "malting". The grains are made to germinate by soaking in water, and are then halted from germinating further by drying with hot air...

 is purchased from Castle Head Maltings in Elgin. The distillery has one mash tun (12 tonnes), eight washbacks (54,000 l), three washstills (14,400 l) and three spirit stills (17,000 l). The distillery works run on steam.