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Glenmorangie

The Glenmorangie distillery was established in 1843, on the site of a former brewery by brothers William and John Matheson. The name Glenmorangie means ‘Glen of Tranquility’ and it’s still a very peaceful spot on the Dornoch Firth, located about 35 miles north of Inverness in the Highland region. The distillery remained in the hands of the Matheson family until Leith wine and spirits merchant Macdonald & Muir, founded in 1893 Roderick Macdonald and Alexander Muir, acquired a stake in the company in 1918 and eventually gained full control in the 1930s.

It remained under the same ownership for the next 90 years, but Glenmorangie still suffered from the ups and downs that plagued the industry throughout the 20th century. The American market was particularly important for Macdonald & Muir with their Highland Queen blended whisky, named after Mary Queen of Scots. Consequently, Glenmorangie struggled throughout Prohibition, which came into force in 1919, and the distillery closed in 1931, only to reopen in 1936.

In 1996 the parent company changed its name to the Glenmorangie Company. The offices moved from Leith to a modern facility in Broxburn, West Lothian. Then in 1997 it bought the dilapidated Ardbeg Distillery on Islay from Allied Distillers for £7 million, which sounds like something of a bargain now but at the time Islay single malts were a niche market. The company already owned Glen Moray, bought back in 1923, and various blended whisky brands including the much-loved Bailie Nicol Jarvie.

But the ‘80s and ‘90s saw a gradual move away from blends to concentrate on single malts. For many years, the 10 Year Old expression was the only one bottled by the distillery but in 1987 Glenmorangie released a 1963 vintage single malt which was finished in oloroso sherry casks. This was followed in the early ‘90s by a Port cask-finished whisky and then a plethora of other cask finishes like Madeira, sherry and Sauternes. The switch to single malts was completed in 2014 when the Bailie Nicol Jarvie was discontinued.

By this stage, after more than 90 years involvement, the MacDonald family sold up to French luxury goods giant Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessey (LVMH) for £300 million. Then in 2008 it sold Glen Moray distillery to another French company, La Martiniquaise, to concentrate on Glenmorangie and Ardbeg.

The classic Glenmorangie style as epitomised by Glenmorangie 10 majors on fresh fruit like oranges and peaches burnished with sweet American oak. Whisky creator Dr. Bill Lumsden is fond of saying that “that the orangey is morangey in Glenmorangie”, as a way of communicating the core flavour profile and how to pronounce the distillery name.

The process of making Glenmorangie whisky starts with hard water from Tarlogie Springs and an unpeated Scottish barley. The distillery has a stainless steel full lauter mash tun and 14 stainless steel washbacks. The stills are unusual, at over 5m (17ft), they are the tallest in Scotland. This means a massive amount of copper contact and therefore reflux leading to a fruity and very refined new make. The vast majority of ageing takes place in ex-bourbon casks and what are known as ‘designer’ casks, made from specially grown oak in the Ozarks and then filled to Glenmorangie’s specifications with bourbon.

Glenmorangie claims that it is made as it always has been by the ‘16 men of Tain’ but one name more than any other is synonymous with the distillery today: the aforementioned Dr Bill Lumsden. He was the distillery manager from 1995 to 1998, and from then head of distilling and whisky creation for everything in the Glenmorangie Company’s portfolio. Under Dr Lumsden the cask finishes continued such as Sauternes barrel Nectar D'Or, Port cask The Quinta Ruban 14 Year Old and sherry-finished Lasanta 12 Year Old. He’s also been at the forefront of experimentation earlier in the whisky making stage with products like Signet made using chocolate malt, Cadboll made with single estate barley, and A Tale of the Forest which uses barley kilned with botanicals.

In 2021, Glenmorangie unveiled The Lighthouse, a purpose-built mini distillery equipped with two Forsyth’s copper stills identical to those in the main building so that Dr Lumsden would have somewhere to experiment. Whisky lovers can’t wait to see what he will come up with next.

Glenmorangie A Tale of the Forest (No Presentation Box)

70cl, 46%

A bottle of Glenmorangie A Tale of the Forest, kilned with woodland botanicals and a touch of peat. Please Note: This bottle comes without the presentation box, but rest assured the whisky is just…  More info

Glenmorangie A Tale of the Forest (No Presentation Box)

Glenmorangie Madeira Wood Finish

70cl, 43%

A stonkingly good and rather rare Glenmorangie, finished in large Madeira drums. The result is a fruity, creamy whisky with a slight orange hue to it. Very tasty indeed! This bottle was part of a…  More info

Glenmorangie Madeira Wood Finish
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Glenmorangie 18 Year Old Extremely Rare – Azuma Makoto Limited Edition

70cl, 43%

A limited edition collaborative bottling from Glenmorangie of its 18 Year Old Extremely Rare single malt, created with Japanese flower artist Azuma Makoto. Inspired by the scents he found in the…  More info

Glenmorangie 18 Year Old Extremely Rare – Azuma Makoto Limited Edition

Glenmorangie 10 Year Old - 1990s - The Sixteen Men of Tain Tin

70cl, 40%

Quite a fun old bottling of Glenmorangie 10 Year Old this, as the embossed tin features the Sixteen Men of Tain who were responsible for running the distillery for decades. This bottle was part of…  More info

Glenmorangie 10 Year Old - 1990s - The Sixteen Men of Tain Tin

Glenmorangie Artisan Cask

50cl, 46%

Artisan cask was an early noughties bottling from Glenmorangie, matured in first-fill bourbon casks and bottled without chill-filtration at 46% ABV. It's delicious stuff and should be a great option…  More info

Glenmorangie Artisan Cask

Glenmorangie A Tale Of Winter

70cl, 46%

Following on from Glenmorangie's A Tale of Cake, the magnificent distillery has gone and created Glenmorangie A Tale of Winter (we do like the idea that "cake" is in fact a season and that it…  More info

Glenmorangie A Tale Of Winter
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Glenmorangie 10 Year Old - 1990s

70cl, 40%

A collectible bottling of Glenmorangie 10 Year Old single malt Scotch whisky from the era that gave birth to pogs, Pokémon and some of the most vibrantly colourful trousers you'll ever see - the…  More info

Glenmorangie 10 Year Old - 1990s

Glenmorangie The Tayne

100cl, 43%

Released at the start of 2016 for the Travel Retail market, The Tayne from Glenmorangie has been finished in selected Amontillado Sherry casks!  More info

Glenmorangie The Tayne
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Glenmorangie Port Wood Finish - 1990s

70cl, 43%

A rare and discontinued 1990s expression of Glenmorangie Port Wood Finish. Produced by The Sixteen Men of Tain, it was aged for a full 14 years, first in American oak casks before being finished for…  More info

Glenmorangie Port Wood Finish - 1990s

Glenmorangie 10 Year Old - 1990s (with Sixteen Men of Tain Design Tin)

70cl, 40%

This is an old and rare bottling of Glenmorangie 10 Year Old which comes with its original presentation tin. A handsome relic of yesteryear. This bottle was part of a private collection - if you'd…  More info

Glenmorangie 10 Year Old - 1990s (with Sixteen Men of Tain Design Tin)

Glenmorangie Fino Sherry Wood Finish

70cl, 43%

This Glenmorangie Fino Sherry Wood Finished matured in American white oak barrels for 13 years, and in 1996 the Highland single malt whisky was transferred to fino sherry butts for finishing. This…  More info

Glenmorangie Fino Sherry Wood Finish

Glenmorangie 1981 Sauternes Wood Finish

70cl, 46%

The predecessor of Glenmorangie's Nectar D'Or, the 1981 Sauternes Wood Finish was aged for 21 years, the last two of which were spent in premier cru Chateau d'Yquem casks. There are just 4,000…  More info

Glenmorangie 1981 Sauternes Wood Finish
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Glenmorangie 21 Year Old Elegance

70cl, 43%

Impressively aged Glenmorangie. Matured for 21 years, this Highland whisky comes presented in an equally impressive decanter, which is made to be a scaled-down likeness of the stills used at the…  More info

Glenmorangie 21 Year Old Elegance

Glenmorangie A Tale of Cake

70cl, 46%

Dr. Bill Lumsden (Glenmorangie’s director of whisky creation) was recently musing on how some of his most joyful memories involved cake, which inspired the good doctor to make a whisky evoking those…  More info

Glenmorangie A Tale of Cake
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Glenmorangie The Duthac

100cl, 43%

The Duthac comes from Glenmorangie's range of expressions originally released for the Travel Retail market. This particular single malt, name after St. Duthac whose resting place sits at the centre…  More info

Glenmorangie The Duthac
33

Glenmorangie Grand Vintage Malt 1990 (bottled 2016) - Bond House No.1 Collection

70cl, 43%

Glenmorangie have kicked off their Bond House No.1 series of vintage expressions with an absolutely stonking 1990 vintage single malt! This terrific tipple was distilled right when everyone realised…  More info

Glenmorangie Grand Vintage Malt 1990 (bottled 2016) - Bond House No.1 Collection
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Glenmorangie Milsean Private Edition

70cl, 46%

Glenmorangie Milsean is the seventh release from their very popular Private Edition range (following on from last year's Tùsail). This time, Dr Bill Lumsden and his team have taken inspiration from…  More info

Glenmorangie Milsean Private Edition
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Glenmorangie Finealta Private Edition

70cl, 46%

Very, very unusual for Glenmorangie (though not for current whisky trends), they've gone and peated it. This was distilled from Lightly peated barley, to an original recipe dating back to 1903. This…  More info

Glenmorangie Finealta Private Edition
10

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