Review by: The Muskox

My local whisky club managed to put together a truly interesting Glenmorangie tasting. After a surprisingly disappointing outing with the 1991 Grand Vintage, I’m hoping for a better experience with this 1996.

Rather than wine and sherry casks, this whisky is matured in ex-bourbon casks made from Ozark Mountain white oak. These particular oak staves are air-dried for two years before being leant to bourbon distilleries for at least 4 years of maturation (in 1996, Glenmorangie was likely sending these to Brown Foreman or Heaven Hill). These casks are actually in fairly widespread use at Glenmorangie, and are said to give a particular creamy character to the malt. I’ve always thought that creaminess was just a part of Glenmorangie’s spirit – it’s very cool to learn that it actually comes from these special American oak casks.

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Distillery: Glenmorangie.

Bottler: Official bottling.

Region: Highlands.

ABV: 55.7%. Cask Strength.

Age: 23 Years. Distilled in 1996. Bottled in 2019.

Cask type: Ex-bourbon Ozark Mountain oak casks.

Price: N/A, tasting sample ($1100 CAD)

Color: Light gold. Natural Color. Chill Filtered.

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Nose: Very creamy and ex-bourbon-ish. Rich buttercream. Soft pears, citrus oils, banana, and even more tropical fruits. Some toasted coconut, Honey Nut Cheerios, and maple sap, and rose petals. An undercurrent of scented oak and old pencils.

Palate:

Medium texture. Arrives with sweet orchard fruit and flowers, then rich creaminess. Coffee ice cream cake with nuts and a caramel ribbon (ice cream cake > normal cake, don’t @ me). Plenty of toasted coconut, caramel, and soft malt. Varnished oak and a dusting of nutmeg.

Finish: Medium-length, buttery and creamy again. The theme of vanilla, caramel, and balanced oak continues right through here. Lingering soft stonefruit and orange zest. Something of a sneaky passionfruit note hiding in there.

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Possible SMWS bottling name: “Tahitian butter-churning competition”

A fine whisky. There’s no mind-blowing complexity or anything very surprising, just a huge amount of creamy goodness. It’s not too far off from being just a slightly-better version of the 18, which is a good thing to be fair. I do think it falls short of the similar Glen Grant 18 which I tried recently. Not to mention this whisky’s completely absurd price.

Final Score: 81.

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Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
• 50-59: Save it for mixing.
• 0-49: Blech.