Glenmorangie

GlenmorangieSingle Malt Scotch Whisky

Matheson bought two second-hand gin stills to make his spirit, and the distillery is famous for having the tallest stills in Scotland, although these days there are eight stills rather than just two (with more to come), and Bruichladdich claim that their stills are taller.

The history of Glenmorangie

In 1918, the distillery was bought by Macdonald and Muir, who steered Glenmorangie through the difficult inter-war period when the combination of Prohibition and the Great Depression made conditions very difficult for the industry as a whole. Having survived, Glenmorangie went on to flourish, doubling the number of stills to four in 1977 and again to eight in 1990, the year after the company had secured the future of its own water source by buying 650 acres of land around the Tarlogie Springs.

Glenmorangie cask finishing

Although it may not have been the very first company to experiment with the technique of wood finishing (other sources claim that this accolade belongs to David Stewart and Balvenie), there is no doubt that Glenmorangie embraced the concept wholeheartedly in the 1990s under the stewardship of Dr Bill Lumsden.

Lumsden began his tenure as Glenmorangie distillery manager in 1994, and is now head of distilling and whisky creation for the company. During his time as distillery manager, Glenmorangie introduced a long-running series of finishes, with the three main expressions having been finished in Madeira, Sherry and Port. Some of the more notable finishes have included the 1978 Tain L'Hermitage bottling; a 1975 vintage Côtes de Nuits Finish released in 2000; and a 1981 vintage finished in Sauternes casks from Château d'Yquem.

Other experiments include a memorable series of 1993 vintage Glenmorangie matured in different types of oak (for example, Chinkapin, Missouri, Truffle, Burr) which have appeared as very limited bottlings in selected markets to great acclaim and now attract prices only collectors could contemplate. In the meantime, the regular bottlings, including the 10 Year Old and Glenmorangie 18 Year Old, continue to draw acclaim from single-malt enthusiasts.