Review by: The Muskox
After a rather mediocre flight of Glenmorangie Grand Vintages, our tasting continued to this single cask bottling. The age is younger, the proof has risen, and the price is… still astronomical, with Whiskybase listings starting at €699.
Distillery: Glenmorangie.
Bottler: Official bottling.
Region: Highlands.
ABV: 57.6%, cask strength.
Age: 11 years old. Distilled in 2010. Bottled on 06/23/2021.
Cask type: Cask #475, White Oak Bourbon Cask, Amontillado Finish.
Color: Light gold. Colour added, chill-filtered.
Nose: Off-dry and surprisingly cool. Bittersweet citrus notes of key limes and grapefruit peels, as well as some coconut water and slightly-underripe mango. Nuttier flavours of cashews and melted butter. A variety of herbs and spices – fresh thyme, coriander (seeds), cardamom pods, and fennel fronds. Almost a pine note. Mineral notes of wet shale and sea salt. Actually, it’s quite briny – a hint of pickled jalapenos, maybe, or green olives. Some dry maltiness too – my cohost at the tasting came up with “white-chocolate-covered salted pretzels”, which is spot on.
Palate: Medium-thick texture. Arrives with bright citrus juices, salted caramel, a hint of creamy vanilla. Ginger and toasted malt appear after a short time, followed by lightly charred oak and crème brulee.
A drop of water really sets things off, with juicier fruit, orange blossoms, spicy ginger and lemongrass.
Finish: Long with lots of development. Fresh, with a hint of fatty sweetness. Sea salt really comes in here. Salted butter and white chocolate. Plenty more grapefruit. Fresh oregano and lemongrass.
The water brings extreme retronasal butteriness and dripping honey.
Possible SMWS bottling name: “Martini in a medieval spice chest”
Notes: So different from the Grand Vintages, or any other Glenmorangie I’ve tried for that matter. There’s a cold snappiness to this dram, and a sort of herbal/citrus peel character that was very unexpected. I think it’s quite good, but I’m struggling to quantify exactly how good. It might be as good as the ’97 Grand Vintage.
Final Score: 84.
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.
Malt Runners 