May 2014

Glenmorangie Ealanta

/ / Highland, Review, Scottish Whisky /

Glenmorangie Ealanta Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
46% ABV
$90 to $110
Website
Ealanta
What the Distillery Says:
Glenmorangie Ealanta is the fourth annual release in our award winning Private Edition range.
Scots Gaelic for ‘skilled and ingenious’, Ealanta is a 19 Years Old Glenmorangie, fully matured in virgin American white oak casks with a provenance that stretches all the way to the mountains of Missouri and the Mark Twain National Forest.

The porous oak wood, air-dried for over 2 years, but in this instance never seasoned with any other whisky, allows our precious spirit to extract maximum flavours as nature intended – producing a whisky of incredible taste and smoothness, with layers of vanilla and candied orange peel, interwoven with sugar coated almonds.

Non chill-filtered

Aroma: Toffee, butterscotch, vanilla, and a curious hint of stewed fruits. Classic Glenmorangie mentholic top-note, interwoven with an unusual nuttiness, reminiscent of Brazil nuts in toffee.
Taste: Candied orange peel, sugar coated almonds, sweet vanilla and marzipan.
Finish: The taste goes on and on, finally giving way to some oak-derived spices – clove, ginger and a hint of aniseed.
Colour: Burnt Ochre

What Richard Says:
Nose: Rich and fruity. This nose oozes vanilla cream soda.
Palate:Praline pecans, orange mints, and herbal. This beauty is aggressively viscous. It wraps around your tongue and won’t let go.
Finish:The woody dryness leaves quickly leaving you with malty pumpkin pie spices and a licorice like aftertaste of fennel seed or anise.
Comments: More please! Sadly, I only recently opened the bottle I purchased and this one time limited release (which came out last year) is getting harder to find. I would grab another one to squirrel away. This is one of my favorite Glenmorangies yet.
Rating: Must Try

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Glenmorangie 18 Year

/ / Highland, Review, Scottish Whisky /

Glenmorangie Highland Single Malt Scotch Whiskey 18 Years Old
43% ABV
$90 to $110
Website
Glenmo 18
What the Distillery Says:
The 18 Years Old is a single malt Scotch whisky of serious distinction. Once it has spent fifteen years maturing in American white oak casks approximately 30% is transferred into Spanish Oloroso casks to spend a further three years maturing. Then, when both elements have reached 18 years, we blend them back together to create a whisky with a rich bouquet and full, rounded flavour.

For a whisky of this age this expression has maintained, thanks to our delicate floral spirit and fine Oloroso casks, an incredible degree of vibrancy where the raisiny sweetness of the sherry has been toned down by the nuttiness of the American oak.

Aroma: Rich, rounded and sweet with dried fruits and a complex floral fragrance.
Taste: The taste is balanced between honey, malt and flowery scents. Dates and figs emerge in the background with a hint of wood smoke.
Finish: The finish is long and enticing with the sweetness of dried fruit and subtle dryness of Oloroso nuttiness.
Colour: Honeyed gold

What Richard Says:
Nose: Dried wood and bouquet garni with bits of sweet dried fruit around the edges.
Palate: Creamy, light, delicate and a little nutty. You need to roll this one around a bit to let it open in the mouth. It’s very coy at first. As it opens you get caramelized onions, more dried wood and light honeysuckle sweetness.
Finish: Dry…like reach for a glass of water dry with a grain-ish woodiness.
Comments: Not my favorite Glenmorangie. This is very much the older patriarch to the 10 year old “Original” but like that expression I’m not bowled over with this one. Glenmorangie seems to make a nice, lightly pleasant base spirit that takes to wood finishing well. However, the base spirit can be a little bland and uninspiring. I find this one to fall into that camp. However, I truly respect that they are keeping (for now) their 18 year old in a (somewhat) reasonable price range while others are charging toward the $150 or $200 mark.
Rating: Average

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Glenmorangie Nectar D’Or

/ / Highland, Review, Scottish Whisky /

Glenmorangie Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
The Nectar D’Or Extra Matured in Sauternes Casks 12 Years Old
46% ABV
$65 to $70
Website
Nectar
What the Distillery Says:
“Great to see French casks that actually complement a whisky – so rare! An exercise in outrageously good sweet-dry balancing”

It is here, in hand selected wine barriques from Sauternes: the most famous and ancient sweet wine growing region of France, that this whisky develops its rich, spicy and dessert-like flavours.

Non chill-filtered for additional aroma and mouthfeel.

Aroma: Lime and orange rind, sultanas and dates give a rich fruity flavour laced with tantalising spices of coconut and nutmeg.
Taste: Ginger, nutmeg and toasted almonds bring a deep, warming taste interwoven with a syrupy lemon meringue and honeycomb middle.
Finish: Long and lusciously sweet finish with lemon zest, white chocolate, vanilla and traces of ginger and nutmeg.
Colour: Honeyed gold

What Richard Says:
Nose: A daiquiri with Japanese cherry blossoms. No, not that multicolored fruit-nasty thing in the swirly machine at Wet Willy’s. This is a real daiquiri like Hemingway drank. Fresh squeezed lime juice, rum, and sugar.
Palate: Thick honey sweetness sprinkled with black pepper and a nutty back.
Finish: Dry and surprisingly woody.
Comments: This one plays with the finishing and sweetness better than the Lasanta. The Sauternes casks are nice enhancement to already solid malt.
Rating: Stands Out

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Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban 12 Yr

/ / Highland, Review, Scottish Whisky /

Glenmorangie Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
The Quinta Ruban Extra Matured in Port Casks 12 Years Old
46% ABV
$45 to $50
Website
Quinta Ruban
What the Distillery Says:
The darkest and most intense whisky in the extra-matured range, Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban has spent 10 years maturing in American white oak casks, before being transferred into specially selected ruby port pipes from the Quintas or wine estates of Portugal.

Extra maturation in these port pipes develops Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban into a voluptuous spirit with a complex balance of sweet and dry flavours and an intriguing contrast of smooth and crisp, cooling textures.

Non chill-filtered for additional aroma and mouthfeel.

Aroma: Dark mint chocolate, tangerines and Seville oranges mingle with sandalwood and walnut before giving way to a spicy finish of pepper and nutmeg.
Taste: Mint chocolate and walnuts envelop the palate like velvet, laying the foundations for rose, Turkish delight and sweet Seville oranges.
Finish: Long lasting silky aftertaste leaving dark chocolate mints and traces of orange.
Colour: Sunlit rose gold

What Richard Says:
Nose: Citrus, berries, and a hint of sweet basil.
Palate: Oily, rich, and smooth. Plums, dark chocolate and more citrus. Chocolate orange candies?
Finish: Long and dry.
Comments: Very nice. Of the three 12 year old finishes I like this one the best. The port adds a delicious overtone. It doesn’t quite dominate like Lasanta’s sherry but it edges over the Nectar D’Or.
Rating: Stands Out

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Glenmorangie Lasanta

/ / Highland, Review, Scottish Whisky /

Glenmorangie Highland Single Malt Scotch Whiskey
The Lasanta Extra Matured in Sherry Casks 12 Years Old
46% ABV
$45 to $50
Website
Lasanta
What the Distillery Says:
Elegant but full bodied this whisky has spent ten years maturing in American white oak ex-bourbon casks before being extra-matured for a further two years in Oloroso Sherry casks from Jerez in Spain.

Aroma: Warm spices mix with smooth chocolate covered raisins, honeycomb and caramel toffee.
Taste: Deliciously sweet sherry flavoured sultanas, orange segments, walnuts and butterscotch combine to create complex warm spices.
Finish: Long and satisfying finish with spiced orange and chocolate covered hazelnuts.
Colour: Light russet

What Richard Says:
Nose: Heavy, in your face meaty sherry nose. Vanilla, stewed prunes dusted with cocoa powder, hazelnuts, and back notes of clementine orange slices.
Palate: Sweet almost to the point of being cloying. Raisins and nut trail mix with a pinch of white pepper.
Finish: Warm, slow and nutty.
Comments: I like sherried malts…a lot. Hit me with your biggest sherry bomb and I’ll be coming back for more. However, this young kid seems to be trying a bit too hard. It lacks the balanced play of an aged Glendronach or Mortlach. I think maybe it’s because the underlying malt is so delicate I don’t think it stands up well to the heavy sherry influence here. It’s more of a glass of sherry with a Glenmorangie boilermaker rather than a sherry finished Glenmorangie.
Rating: Stands Out

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