Mannochmore was founded in the 1960s to meet the growing demand for whisky. Primarily used to produced whisky for the Haig and Dimple blend, it is today known to collectors for its iconic black whisky Loch Dhu. This whisky, which was highly criticized for its unnatural colour when it was first released, would return sometime later on the secondary market.

A Mannochmore 16 year old distilled in 1977 and bottled at cask strength in 1994 by Cadenhead for its Authentic Collection range. Cadenhead was founded in 1842 by George Duncan, who was quickly joined by William Cadenhead who renamed the business after Duncan’’s death in 1858. When Cadenhead in turn passed away in 1904, his nephew Robert Duthie took over and turned the business into the independent bottler it is today. After Duthie, it was managed by one of his employees, Ann Olivier, whose stubborn approach to running the business led to much of the stock having to be sold at auction by Christie’’s (London) in 1972 to feed the kitty and save the business. It was then sold to J. & A. Mitchell and Co, who also owned Springbank, and moved to Campbeltown. Launched in the 1990s, the Authentic Collection marked the end of the previous two decades of bottlings at 46%, instead favouring cask strength releases. It became Cadenhead’’s main range.