I was recently looking at my home bar and realized that I have had two bottles sitting on my bar from my favorite scotch distillery that I hadn’t reviewed, that have been there for six or seven years. I was hesitant to open them on a less than special occasion, when I first got them, and then I just didn’t get around to it. I then checked my blog and realized I had never written about that distillery in detail – Glenmorangie – and not even about my trip ten years ago during my honeymoon for a Whisky Weekend at Glenmorangie House. That weekend marked a decided change in how I taste all whiskies; they taught me how to isolate flavors and smells in whiskies and how to best describe them. This, along with a Friends of the Trace weekend at Buffalo Trace in 2016, is what led me to start writing about whiskey.

Glenmorangie Distillery is located in Tain, Scotland, on Dornoch Firth. A firth in Scotland is what they might call a fjord in Norway; salt water inlets that are fairly deep and wide, and these are pretty unique to northern Europe; where the seas have crashed basically into mountain rock to carve these beautiful waterways. Glenmorangie Distillery was officially founded in 1843 when William Matheson acquired Morangie Farm and converted the existing brewery into a distillery. Glenmorangie which means “Valley of Tranquility” in Gaelic, and the old labels refer to the “The Sixteen Men of Tain,” a group of 16 skilled workers who were responsible for every aspect of whisky production at the distillery.

The distillery uses spring water rich in minerals from Tarlogie Springs. Their barley is locally sourced as well, and named Codboll barley, another name for this area of Scotland. Their scotches have no peat, but their master distiller, Dr. Bill Lumsden, is also master distiller for Ardbeg on Islay, which is very peaty. The estate and the distillery are absolutely picturesque, and Glenmorangie House has a Michelin Red House (equivalent to a star for a restaurant). One of the things that makes Glenmornagie abolutely unique is that they use the tallest stills in Scotland to make their refined whisky. But, the funny part is, they did this to be cheap – the first two stills were used gin stills. There is a joke that copper wire was invented when two Scots were fighting over a penny; so a guy converting a farm and brewery to a distillery went cheap. They have added more stills since then, and, per Scottish whisky making tradition, every still has to be the same, because of you change one thing, the whisky will be different. I have written in the past that the size and shape of the still makes much more difference in how scotch tastes than it does with bourbon. Bourbon flavor is driven by mashbill and barrel. Scotches all use the same mashbill – malted barley, but the difference in how the barley is malted, the stills, and the barrels used to finish these whiskies drive the differing flavors. In any event, Glenmorangie’s tall stills make a wonderfully refined spirit.

During the course of the weekend, Catherine and I experienced four curated tastings. The introductory tasting had the four main Glenmornagie whiskies at the time, the 10 year old, La Santa (sherry finish), Quinta Ruban (port finish), and Nector d’Or (Sauternes finish), along with small cups (pictured below) that either tasted or smelled like a note you would normally find in the four whiskies.

The next day we had a tasting at the distillery after the tour that paired whisky with chocolate IN THE MORNING, then had some of their older stuff by the Codboll Stone, then that afternoon we had a tasting where they tried to throw us off by putting some Ardbeg and Brandy in our glasses and to see which was one of us could identify all of the spirits in the glasses, then a tasting of Glenmorangie Signet, their top of the line whisky. Then, we had a full Burns supper with music and the works.

Whisky Review: Glenmorangie Spios & Glenmorangie Allta

Glenmorangie Spios

Background

Glenmorangie Spios is the ninth edition in Glenmorangie’s Private Edition series, released in 2018. The name “Spios” (pronounced “spee-oss”) is Scots Gaelic for “spice,” which perfectly hints at its character. What makes this expression particularly unique is that it’s the first Glenmorangie ever to be fully matured in American ex-rye whiskey casks, bringing a new dimension to their traditionally light and floral Highland single malt. Typically, Glenmorangie is aged in ex-Jack Daniels casks (Glenmorangie actually leases casks to Brown Forman) and these casks are used twice and the results are blended together. The whiskies may then be further matured in sherry, port, or other casks to create additional flavors.

For Spios, Glenmorangie sourced first-fill rye casks that previously held whiskey with a 95% rye mash bill. While there’s no official age statement, based on information shared during tastings, the whisky appears to be around 10 years old.

Appearance

In the glass, Glenmorangie Spios presents a golden yellow hue. When swirled, it leaves behind a big thick film and huge legs.

Nose

The nose immediately reveals the tannic character of rye whiskey, with pronounced clove and vegetal notes, with background notes of allspice, clove, and cinnamon.

Palate

The palate has a surprisingly thick body, with spices from the rye casks defining this whisky. Nutmeg and cinnamon meet subtle vanilla and caramel pudding with earthy undertones. The entry is creamy with vanilla and a hay-like earthiness that’s still rich and sweet, before quickly developing a spicy character dominated by clove, pepper, and nutmeg. It strikes an excellent balance, being neither too sweet nor too spicy. I quit smoking two years ago, and I can really say that my palate was good back in 2015 in Scotland but it is much improved now. Spios reminds me of why I really like Glenmornagie so much – this scotch just tastes so wonderful without any negatives whatsoever.

Finish

The finish begins with a peak of sweetness, followed by a rush of orange peel that is so typical of Glenmorangie (it rhymes with orangey) with wonderful malty notes. It starts fruity and malty, but after a few seconds, a heavy essence of rye whiskey joins the party on this long and delightful finish.

Glenmorangie Allta

Background

Glenmorangie Allta represents the tenth anniversary release in the Private Edition series, released in 2019. The name “Allta” means “wild” in Scots Gaelic, referring to the wild yeast (Saccharomyces diaemath) that Dr. Bill Lumsden discovered growing on Glenmorangie’s own Cadboll barley near the distillery.

Unlike previous Private Edition releases that typically focused on unique cask maturation, Allta explores the impact of yeast on whisky flavor. This innovation makes it the first Glenmorangie created using wild yeast cultivated from their own barley. By the way, given the God created the world, and God created grains like barley, and God made wild yeast to populate on the barley, and that the Prophet Isaiah wrote “On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear” which is an obvious reference to whisky in the last phrase, so whisky is one of the surest signs that God loves us, which is why it bears the name of Jesus, the water of life. I am sure many can poke holes in my logic or theology, but here I sit, I can do no other, because that whole standing thing is overrated.

This whisky was aged in ex-bourbon barrels, with half being second-fill casks as is Glenmorangie’s usual method to better showcase the spirit’s character rather than the wood influence. Basically, this is Glenmorangie Original 10 year old but made with wild yeast. This is also the highest proof Glenmorangie I have ever encountered, being 102.4 proof.

Appearance

Glenmorangie Allta displays a yellow gold color in the glass.

Nose

The nose presents an interesting balance of sweet and savory elements. There’s an immediate burst of sweet fruits like raspberries and red currants, balanced with doughy fruit pastry aromas, cereal notes emerge as sweetened porridge, followed by sandalwood and fresh pine, with Glenmorangie’s signature citrus always present.

Palate

On the palate, Allta delivers toasted barley, date slice, toffee, and and bread pudding with orange liqueur. It is very sweet for simply being aged in ex-bourbon casks, which means that this special yeast has done something magical to this whisky. The 10-year Glenmorangie’s citric, floral notes are amplified, with orange flavor evolving into orange creamsicle, while floral notes transition to clover honey. The higher proof than usual really means more flavor, and this is now probably my personal favorite bottle of Glenmornagie because of it.

Finish

The finish has some wonderful oak notes that are reminiscent of the oak notes you would get on a bourbon, with hints of mint and Grand Marnier. This is everything I love about Glenmorangie original but amped up to a whole new level. My wife calls Glenmorangie “girl scotch”, and when I had her taste it blind she immediately said “girl scotch.” This is not a pejorative thing; Catherine loves Glenmorangie and she fell in love with it during out honeymoon, part of which was spent at Glenmorangie House. What her phrase is meant to express is that Glenmorangie is the absolute opposite of Cutty Sark in a dark New York bar.

Slainte.