Westport 18yo 2004/2022

Westport 18yo 2004/2022

Wilson & Morgan Barrel Selection, Rossi & Rossi
Single malt - North Highlands
Amber red
57.4% ABV

Dram

Nose: Leather, orange juice, orange peel, malted grains, raisins, cocoa nibs, strawberry jam. With water, orange juice, damson jam, white pepper. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, astringent, tingly, hot. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Leather, cocoa nibs, oatcakes, oak chips, wet stones, orange peel, raisins. With water, pencil lead, malted grains, raisins, wet stones. 
Finish: Long. Wet stones, oatcakes, cocoa nibs, pencil lead. 

Comments: 

Citrusy and jammy, lots of feinty notes with turn to peppery spice after a little water is added. Lots of flinty, minerally stuff on the finish too. Rather good whisky.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Glenmorangie Spios

Glenmorangie Spios

Official bottling
Single malt - North Highlands
Pale gold
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Rye bread, raisins, jasmine tea, vanilla, honey, hints of brown paper. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, volatile, airy, loose. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Rye bread, raisins, maraschino cherries, brown paper, black tea. 
Finish: Short. Black tea, ginseng, raisins, orange peel. 

Comments: 

This is like drinking rye bread in liquid form, maybe soaked in tea. There are some other sweet notes, but the rye flavour predominates. Of course, it's a Glenmorangie finishing project that used rye whisky casks. It's unusual, and I like unusual whisky, but I wouldn't really drink this more than once or twice.

Verdict:

I like this.

Glenmorangie Tusail

Glenmorangie Tusail

Official bottling
Single malt - North Highlands
Straw
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Dates, orange blossom, candy floss, lemon zest, brass polish, hints of photocopy paper. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, slightly watery around the edges, static. 
Tasting: Sweet sour. Orange blossom, lemon zest, rhubarb and custard sweets, honey, straw, hints of cream. 
Finish: Long. Orange blossom, dates, almonds, hints of lemon zest. 

Comments: 

Another No Age Statement whisky... they are coming thick and fast. This one is unusual, tart and brassy, yet fragrant and floral. Reminds me of nothing so much as a good Rosebank! Well, if you can't get that increasingly rare Lowlands dram, this is what it tastes like. Honestly, if you hadn't shown me the bottle, I'd have bet money that this was Falkirk's finest.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Glenmorangie Distillery

Glenmorangie Distillery
Tain
Ross-shire IV19 1BR

North Highlands, Scotland - Active

Flavour profile

Glenmorangie is, to me at least, the quintessential Highlands whisky. I associate the Highlands with robust whisky replete with intense bold flavours, tending to be on the sweet side, but occasionally containing big whiffs of peat and smoke. The Glenmorangie range is quite diverse in its range of flavours, as the official bottlings have mostly been finished in different ways, but even so, there are several common flavour elements running through them.

From the Wordle below, the most common flavour is vanilla, followed by condensed milk. Then a trio of chocolate bar flavours - chocolate (of course), raisins, and honey. Most of these flavours come from the finishing casks I think. Unfinished Glenmorangie (at least the couple I've had) has vanilla, is quite cereally and slightly biscuity. However, except for the vanilla, the finishing casks tend to overwhelm these flavours and replace them. There is one exception however - Glenmorangie Astar, where the whisky has been aged in American oak. It's loaded with vanilla, biscuit, some cereal elements, and surprisingly, smoke.


All the Glenmorangies I've tasted so far are here.

Glenmorangie 10 yo - good
SMWS 125.20 - good
Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban - very good
Glenmorangie Nectar d'Or - very good
Glenmorangie Lasanta - good
Glenmorangie 18 yo - very good
Glenmorangie Astar - very good


Distillery history

Founded in 1843 by William Mathesen, who was formerly a partner at Balblair distillery. The distillery was part sold to Macdonald & Muir and Durham Ltd in 1918. The new owners kept the name of the distillery (Glenmorangie Distillery Co) in the company name. In 2004, the luxury company LVMH bought the distillery. The distillery was silent from 1931-1936 and again from 1941-1944.

Glenmorangie is part of Baillie Nicol Jarvie and Highland Queen. After the LVMH takeover the range was revamped, with the flagship Glenmorangie 10 yo being rebranded as the Original, and a number of quite delicious finished expressions being introduced (with some existing ones also being rebranded). There aren't very many indie bottlings, although the Scotch Malt Whisky Society (part owned by the same parties) have a few casks now and then.

Potted distillery facts

Water source: Springs from the Tarlogie hills, a source of hard water
Washbacks: Six, stainless steel, 48,500 litres each
Wash stills: Four, long and reflux bowl neck, 11,400 litres
Spirit stills: One, long and reflux bowl neck, 8,200 litres
Spirit still Lyne arm: Almost a right angle
Production per year: approximately 3,000,000 litres

- The Scottish Whisky Distilleries, Misako Udo

Glenmorangie Astar

Glenmorangie Astar

Official bottling
Single malt - North Highlands
Dark gold
57.1% ABV
Bottle

Nose: Vanilla, sponge cake, lemon zest, chocolate, cinnamon, biscuit, hints of wood smoke. With water, smokier, biscuitier, sweeter.
Mouthfeel: Medium body, cool, slippery, volatile.
Tasting: Sweet. Vanilla, sponge cake, biscuit, chocolate, elderflower, cinnamon, nutmeg, hints of smoke. With water, biscuit, sweeter, brown paper, hints of smoke.
Finish: Long. Biscuit, chillies, vanilla, chocolate.

Comments:

Bottled in American oak barrels at cask strength. Very spicy and welcoming, the epitome of oak aging. Probably better than the Glengoyne 17 yo. I drank most of this on a beach in Greece. It was delicious.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Glenmorangie 18 yo

Glenmorangie 18 yo

Official bottling
Single malt - North Highlands
Butter yellow
43% ABV
Dram

Nose: Coffee, chillies, black pepper, raisins, oranges, milk, hints of molasses.
Mouthfeel: Medium body, loosens, slight watery around the edges.
Tasting: Bitter sweet. Coffee, chillies, raisins, leather, milk, vanilla, hints of black pepper.
Finish: Long. Leather, coffee, vanilla, black pepper.

Comments:

Spicy and sweet, with a feisty peppery hit to the roof of the mouth. This is very spicy whisky, reminiscent of Hot Scotch sauce (Google it if you don't believe me!). Very good indeed, Glenmorangie hit the jackpot with this. Who would have thought that LVMH knew a thing or two about making whisky?

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Glenmorangie Lasanta

Glenmorangie Lasanta

Official bottling
Single malt - North Highlands
Amber gold
43% ABV
Dram

Nose: Butter, sherry, condensed milk, raisins, honey, strawberries, chocolate, hints of roses .
Mouthfeel: Medium body, thickens, hot, astringent.
Tasting: Sweet. Sherry, butter, raisins, strawberries, cream, honey, chocolate, red wine, hints of roses.
Finish: Long. Light, honey, sherry, raisins.

Comments:

Sherry matured - tastes like oloroso casks, but possibly a mix. Sweet, but not overly so. Extremely well-balanced whisky (in some others the wood overpowers the character of the spirit, but not here). I like the strawberries and cream, it's appropriate for this time of the year...

Verdict:

I like this.

Glenmorangie Nectar D'Or

Glenmorangie Nectar D'Or

Official bottling
Single malt - North Highlands
Golden
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Raisins, peanuts, hazelnuts, dried apples, coffee, cream, orange peel.
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, thick, loosens slightly.
Tasting: Sweet. Cream, peanuts, hazelnuts, dried apples, coffee, orange peel, hints of prunes, hints of peat.
Finish: Medium. Orange peel, dried apples, coffee.

Comments:

Excellent whisky. It's sweet, but not overly so, with subtle spicy notes if dried fruit. Very appley. Complex and interesting, requires some attention. I didn't find this an easy whisky to drink, but it was definitely rewarding.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban

Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban

Official bottling
Single malt - North Highlands
Pink gold
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Condensed milk, strawberries, raisins, red grapes, honey, hints of peat .
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, thickens, syrupy, viscous.
Tasting: Sweet. Condensed milk, honey, orange peel, strawberries, red wine, toffee, hints of peat.
Finish: Medium. Vanilla, honey, orange peel.

Comments:

Matured in port pipes. Sweet, rich and heavy. A proper dessert whisky, as most port matured whiskies are. This is really fruity, and flavourful, very nice indeed.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

SMWS 125.20 (Glenmorangie 25 yo 1983/2009)

SMWS 125.20 (Glenmorangie 25 yo 1983/2009)

2009, SMWS
Single malt - North Highlands
Sun gold
55% ABV
Dram

Nose: Pineapples, vanilla, marzipan, pears, condensed milk, bananas, caramel, hints of sea salt.
Mouthfeel: Light body, slightly astringent, loosens.
Tasting: Sweet. Vanilla, marzipan, pineapples, bananas, condensed milk, brown paper, hints of cherries.
Finish: Medium. Pineapples, pears, condensed milk, watermelons.

Comments:

Sweet and inviting, with nice fruity refreshing notes. Must be pretty good with ice on a hot summer's day. Great depth of flavour.

Verdict:

I like this.

Glenmorangie 10 yo

Glenmorangie 10 yo

Official bottling
Single malt - Northern Highlands
Pale gold
40% ABV
Sampler

Nose: Hops, malty beer, lemons, apples, oats, hints of chocolate.
Mouthfeel: Light body, watery, static.
Tasting: Sweet. Apples, oat bread, lemon zest, peanuts, hints of cinnamon.
Finish: Short. Oat bread, vanilla, egg yolks.

Comments:

This used to be Glenmorangie's flagship bottling, and has now been discontinued in favour of a NAS expression, called "The Original". Apparently the first few batches of the Original are the same as the old 10 yo, but of course in the future this may well not be the case. The whisky is likely to get younger. This 10 yo is slightly oaky, hence the vanilla in the finish, and is otherwise notable for some quite tasty apples in the mouth.

Verdict:

I like this.