Advertisement Feature: Beauty and the Beast

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UNNECESSARILY WELL MADE

The objective at Glenmorangie is whisky perfection; there are no quick fixes and, at each stage, only the best will do. The distillery has been pursuing this same goal since 1843 and makes Scotland’s favourite single malt.

Glenmorangie is known for having the tallest stills in Scotland, standing at an impressive 5.14 metres (16ft 101/4 inches). In a Darwinian idiom, the more the alcohol vapours have to defy gravity as they climb to the top of the stills, the greater the likelihood that the fatter, heavier ones won’t survive. Thus, the tall stills result in only the very lightest and purest spirit making it over the top of the elongated necks, giving a more elegant and less oily whisky.

For maturation, the finest oak casks are selected but, unusually, they are only used twice. It is not unusual for casks to be used five times or more in the industry, but Dr Bill Lumsden’s view is that the maximum extraction of flavour during maturation is essential to deliver Glenmorangie’s trademark taste profile and mouthfeel.

It is arguable that no one knows more about wood than Glenmorangie as pioneers of the concept of extra maturation in the 1980s. Led by the charismatic Lumsden, the Glenmorangie whisky creation team searches the world for exceptional casks that will provide additional, intriguing layers of flavour to the original character of Glenmorangie. The voluptuous Quinta Ruban is matured in port pipes and the full-bodied Lasanta in Oloroso sherry butts. ‘With 60 per cent of the flavour coming from the cask we knew that if we improved the quality of our wood, we would improve the quality of our whisky. That is why we are passionately, and scientifically, committed to creating the perfect casks in which to mature our precious spirit.’