Glenmorangie The Original, Gift box 70cl

Product Information

Nose: The nose begins with chocolate raisins and sugared mixed peels. Toasted spices, bread and butter pudding and golden syrup complement these aromas, while a note of Angostura bitters lingers beneath. This deeply sweet and nutty small-batch release is the first Glenmorangie ever to be finished in rare Palo Cortado sherry casks. Aged for 12 years, it brings a new elegance to the Highland Distillery’s delicate style. Glenmorangie claims that it is made as it always has been by the ‘16 men of Tain’ but one name more than any other is synonymous with the distillery today: the aforementioned Dr Bill Lumsden. He was the distillery manager from 1995 to 1998, and from then head of distilling and whisky creation for everything in the Glenmorangie Company’s portfolio. Under Dr Lumsden the cask finishes continued such as Sauternes barrel Nectar D'Or, Port cask The Quinta Ruban 14 Year Old and sherry-finished Lasanta 12 Year Old. He’s also been at the forefront of experimentation earlier in the whisky making stage with products like Signet made using chocolate malt, Cadboll made with single estate barley, and A Tale of the Forest which uses barley kilned with botanicals. The Cadboll is a Glenmorangie single malt originally released for the Travel Retail market which was initially aged in bourbon casks before enjoying a finishing period in casks that once held Muscat and Sémillion wines.

A new, higher age stated Quinta Ruban from Glenmorangie. A voluptuously silky spirit, aged first in bourbon casks for smooth, fruity notes, then finished in ruby port casks to create velvety depth.The hard work paid off, as the Signet won Whisky of the Year in the same year as Lumsden was named Master Distiller of the Year at the 2016 International Whisky Competition. But the ‘80s and ‘90s saw a gradual move away from blends to concentrate on single malts. For many years, the 10 Year Old expression was the only one bottled by the distillery but in 1987 Glenmorangie released a 1963 vintage single malt which was finished in oloroso sherry casks. This was followed in the early ‘90s by a Port cask-finished whisky and then a plethora of other cask finishes like Madeira, sherry and Sauternes. The switch to single malts was completed in 2014 when the Bailie Nicol Jarvie was discontinued. The Signet was distilled twice through Glenmorangie's copper-pot stills, by a team of 16 distillers known as the 'Sixteen Men of Tain'. It was subsequently matured in bespoke American virgin oak casks before it was bottled at 46%, and received no chill-filtration. First released more than 175 years ago by our founders, the original Glenmorangie 10 year old was known for its mellow tones and delicacy of flavour. The whiskey is so well balanced for my palate. Some sweetness, nicely balanced bitterness from the coffee and dark chocolate, rounded out with the orange and tobacco. I get a hint of wood and barrel spice in there too

A Whisky born out of Master Distiller Dr Bill Lumsden’s obsession for the culture, fashion and food of Japan. The contradictory and multi-faceted nature of Tokyo inspired Dr Bill to reflect it into a Whisky. The Glenmorangie distillery overlooks the Dornoch Firth in Tain in the north of Scotland. It was founded by William Mathieson in 1849. The water that Glenmorangie uses comes from the Tarlogie Springs and is extremely hard and rich in minerals. The barrels they use to distil whisky are American Oak Bourbon Barrels that are at least 100 years old.The Original is double distilled in Scotland’s tallest stills, then matured for 10 years in first- and second-fill American ex-bourbon casks, including remarkable, air-dried bespoke “designer casks” from Missouri. During this stage, the whisky develops flavours of peach and vanilla and finds the perfect, complex balance that characterises the house style.’ This oaky and fruity small batch release results from rare experimentation with Cognac casks. It elegantly unites notes of spice and leather with Glenmorangie's wondrous fruitiness. We take care to make sure product details are correct but the information shown, including vegan and vegetarian suitability, ingredients, and alcohol by volume (ABV) may change.

The experience begins with light flurries of fruit and honey, building to torrents of cocoa dust, flakes of red pepper and chunks of brazil nut toffee. It culminates in a feels-like-forever finish that swirls with cinnamon, ginger and clove.

This superb Glenmorangie was created with a marriage of whiskies produced from two unique types of malted barley: a single estate Cadboll variety and malted chocolate barley, which is better known as a basis for craft beers. The classic Glenmorangie style as epitomised by Glenmorangie 10 majors on fresh fruit like oranges and peaches burnished with sweet American oak. Whisky creator Dr. Bill Lumsden is fond of saying that “that the orangey is morangey in Glenmorangie”, as a way of communicating the core flavour profile and how to pronounce the distillery name. The finish was just gorgeous, long, smooth sweet and it didn’t make me want to take another sip, it made me want to enjoy the lingering memories.