For Burns Night: Glenmorangie Original Review

Glenmorangie Original Review

Glenmorangie Original

Grade: B+
Teacher’s Comments: A lovely sipping Scotch

Burns Night requires a Scotch to top off the evening, so I thought I’d crack open a Christmas whisky sampler gift and try the Glenmorangie Original.

Glenmorangie Original is a single malt, aged for ten years in casks originally used for bourbon. (Bourbon, by definition, is aged in new, white oak casks. Old bourbon casks are sent elsewhere to age other spirits). It is said to be produced in the tallest stills in Scotland, which produces a more pure distillation.

Glenmorangie has a fruity aroma, with a little vanilla. The taste is very clean, with the same fruits, floral layers and vanilla to which the aroma hints. I also tasted a bit of honey, lemon and orange. The floral tones get stronger as the ice melts. You may want to start by adding a drop or two of water to bring forth those floral notes.  Glenmorange is only slightly woody, and almost no peat and smoke. It is warming through the chest without burning.

The lack of stronger flavors may be offsetting to some; I was hoping for some more character as well. But the more I sipped, the more I liked it. Without the stronger flavors, it has a certain complexity and subtlety that left me trying to identify all the different notes.

For the price — about $40 — it’s a good buy.