[WHISKY REVIEW] Glenmorangie 10 - Scotland's Favorite Malt 💧
Glenmorangie, beautifully located just outside of the town Tain in the North East of Scotland, is said to have been manufacturing alcoholic beverages since the early 1700s, but it wasn't until 1843 that the Morangie farm was acquired by William Matheson and converted from a brewery and gin distillery into a first class whisky distillery. Unfortunately it lost it's status as one of the few family owned distilleries in 2004, and just as with Ardbeg, Glenmorangie is today owned by the French luxury goods conglomerate Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.
Good news is that the new owners have managed to maintain the craftsmanship and the distillery still stands for high quality with control of the entire manufacturing process. They grow their own barley on the fields surrounding the distillery and fetch the water in the Tarlogie springs where the water is filtered through sand for over 100 years before it reaches the spring; a hard water rich in minerals, which contributes significantly to the character of Glenmorangie. To ensure that the springs aren't contaminated or otherwise affected, Glenmorangie has bought up large areas of land around them.
At nearly 8 meters high, Glenmorangie has the highest copper stills in all of Scotland. The long swan necks of the stills provide a high reflow during the distillation process and produce a very smooth and elegant whisky with wonderfully fruity esters. Sometimes it makes you wonder how the few ingredients of water, yeast and barley can create such an array of flavors. As if that wasn't enough, Glenmorangie has access to a huge amount of interesting casks; port, Madeira, rum, Tokaj, American bourbon casks where smoky Islay whisky was previously matured, and countless of red and white wine barrels from the different regions of France.
Today we'll be tasting the classic 10 year old, matured exclusively on American Bourbon casks. No tricks here. This whisky is the number one most sold whisky in Scotland, and the third most sold in the world.
Glenmorangie 10 (The Original)
ABV: 40%
Age: 10 yo
Region: Northern Highlands
Price: Around 45 USD / 0.7L
Appearance: Pale gold.
Nose: Plenty of apple esters! Apple cider, apple juice and dried apples. There are also faint notes of banana, toffee, vanilla and almond. Simple, clean and tidy!
Palate: A lot of grass and vanilla with a light touch of white pepper. The fruits are fresh and it's mainly pears and red apples. Almond steps in at the end and is accompanied by a faint note of butterscotch.
Finish: The medium-long finish is very pleasant and ends in orange sweetness together with some ginger.
Conclusion: Overall it feels very fruity with delicate and subtle flavors. This is a clean and fresh whisky without the slightest tendency to rowdiness or harshness. A subtle, gentle, discreet, modest, diligent whisky, without ever being uncertain. Obviously I would prefer it to be non-chill filtered and at 46% or above, but I really like the kind of subtle elegance that Glenmorangie 10 radiates and will give it 85 points out of 100.
Good review, got me curious about it and $40 for that size bottle and for the quality you are speaking, doesn't seem too shabby.
It should rather be around 45 dollars for the 0.7L, my bad. I got this 1L bottle (travel retail) for around 53 dollars.
I am not sure if I am completely swayed off, but 13 bucks makes a difference.
Not sure where you are located, and I am guessing might look down on Crown Royal, but they have an exclusive flavor at ABC Liquor Stores right now "Crown Royal Canadian Whisky Hand Selected Barrel"
I think the flavor is pretty good, but the best part is it is 103 proof and when they ring it up it is $29 rather than the $50 price it shows as online.
Unfortunately they don't sell Crown Royal in the government owned chain of liquor stores in Sweden. Would be interesting to try this one though! I hear that their master blender is trained in Scotland.
Great review. I love a good malt whisky, however oddly still my favourites are Glenfiddick and Macallan