Glenmorangie The Original 10 Years Old

Aroma: The scent of citrus and ripening peaches is softened by the aroma of vanilla.

Taste: First, vanilla is detected on the tongue before it ripples along the palate bringing a burst of flowery fruitiness.

Finish: About a minute after tasting, you are left with a clean and salving aftertaste with hints of orange and peach.

Comment: A textbook whisky, that's well-made, beautifully-balanced, delicate but still flavorsome.

Production: The process at Glenmorangie starts with mashing unpeated barley with water from the distillery’s Tarlogie Springs.

Fermentation is long, while distillation takes place in the tallest stills in Scotland, all of which retain the same long-necked design of the original pair which were brought from John Taylor’s gin distillery in 1887. This extra height allows a long interaction to take place between alcohol vapour and copper, and while the new make is decidedly high-toned [the cut points here are quite high] there is still a little note of cereal adding a dry counterpoint. The vast majority of Glenmorangie’s make is aged in ex-American oak casks. Some of the mature spirit is then transferred to ex-fortified wine [Port, Sherry] and still wine casks [Sauternes, Burgundy, Super Tuscan etc] for a period of finishing. Glenmorangie was one of the pioneers of this technique.