When Glenmorangie
Distillery invited the Whisky Guild over
for a private tour and tasting of their
new line of whiskies, I had two thoughts
spring to mind. First: excitement,
because any trip back to Scotland is a
reason to smile. Second: A quote from
Winston Churchill. You know the one,
where he described Russia as “a riddle
wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma”.
That’s how I always felt about
Glenmorangie’s whiskies. Though always
“good”, if you’ve read any of my past
reviews, you know I felt that they were
constantly mucking about with their wood
finishing – masking that essential
Glenmorangie character, and a beautiful
whisky. In my (very) humble opinion, I
felt that Glenmorangie was missing the
boat. Until now.
But I’m getting a little
ahead of myself. Before focusing on the
new, let’s talk about the old, and about
what makes Glenmorangie one of the
world’s finest single malt whiskies.
History lesson: Glenmorangie Distillery
was founded in 1843 and (fast-forward)
is now the best selling single malt in
Scotland. Lesson over. So, the obvious
question is, “Why mess that up?” Isn’t
being “number one” good enough? Well
yes, and no. You see, if Glenmorangie
wants to keep up in an increasingly
international whisky market, a little
reinvention was needed. Number one in
Scotland is good; number one
internationally is even better.
Glenmorangie couldn’t even hope to have
designs on that without something
drastic happening, and that is where
their new range comes in. It’s fresh,
it’s new, and, at the risk of not being
objective, it happens to be absolutely
delicious, and probably the “shot in the
arm” that the company needs.
The
Original: Beautifully vibrant
and eye-opening, the nose is
bursting with citrus (lemon,
grapefruit), melons, hay, and
custard. A young nose, but
definitely not immature. A delicate,
crisp body blends in well with the
medium-length, complex finish:
tannic and slightly dry, with
vanilla and more grapefruit notes,
and hints of butterscotch and fresh
mint. A Classic.
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La
Santa: This one starts out,
quite obviously, nosing like good
sherry vinegar; but beneath that
there is the quintessential
Glenmorangie lemony character, as
well as cherries, raisins,
spongecake, cinnamon, and toasted
nuts. More fuller-bodied than The
Original, it nevertheless seems to
have a relatively short finish (a
quick warm burst, and then it’s
gone). While it’s there, though, it
reveals more sherry character, oak,
and a fruit mélange of melons and
tart apples.
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Quinta Ruban: Wow! You know
those chocolate oranges that pop-up
everywhere at Christmastime? That’s
what fills your nose at the first
whiff of Quinta Ruban. There are
also raspberries, lemons, anise,
fresh nuts, and Werther’s Originals,
but it’s that rich chocolate that
stays with you. Very full-bodied,
with a long, smooth finish, leaving
behind hints of bittersweet
chocolate, toasted almonds, toasted
oak, and anisette toasts. That’s a
lot of toast, but this whisky’s
jammin’. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist).
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Nectar D’Or: Very crisp; this
whisky noses younger than it is.
There’s lots of fruit in the nose,
specifically green grapes,
nectarines, and white grapefruits,
as well as Karo syrup and hay. A
very light body followed by an
equally short finish, though there
is a lot going on in it – candy
corn, more grapefruit, lots of oak,
a little must, milk chocolate,
vanilla, and ginger. You can
definitely sense the Sauternes.
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18
Year Old (“Extremely Rare”): A
fresh, clean, vibrant nose that is
invigorating on the one hand, yet
extremely subtle on the other, with
oranges, lemons, new oak, nutmeg,
and Hershey bars (with almonds). We
found the nose very…relaxing. The 18
year old had a medium-to-light
mouthfeel, with a soothing finish of
apples, oranges, figs, mint, and
those chocolate and caramel nut
clusters. An exquisite and sublime
whisky.
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25
Year Old (“Quarter Century”): At
first honeyed and musty, the Quarter
Century’s nose eventually gives way
to menthol, gauze, dandelion,
chicory, a mix of citrus fruits,
dried oysters, sweetened breakfast
cereals, and baked ham. Quite the
mix. At 25 years old, it’s not
surprising that the Quarter Century
had a full-bodied, almost meaty,
mouthfeel. Neither were we surprised
by the quantity of dry oak in the
finish, which also contained
camphor, cloves (for the ham), and
the essence of a field after a late
harvest. Quite interesting. |
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Questions or comments are welcome, I can be reached at
brett@whiskyguild.com
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