Glenmorangie Company is owned by Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy. The stills used to produce its whisky are reputedly some of the tallest in the industry, exposing the rising spirit to even more copper. With more time to rise, vapors tend to luxuriate and rarify themselves, creating a refined, “elegant” whisky.
Let’s move on to the Glenmorangie 25 Year Old: It is bottled at 43% (86 proof) and comes with a fairly hefty price tag. After sampling this one, you can’t argue that it’s not quite well made, and it offers very little to complain about. Connoisseurs and noobies alike will find delightful surprises awaiting them. This said, the whisky is not terribly complex. It is what it is: perfectly simple and simply perfect.
To say a glass of Glenmorangie 25 Years Old is effortless to enjoy is something of an understatement. The dram radiates charm. However, even a few more percentage points of spirit would have added some personality and, dare I say, feistiness?
As David Byrne croons, “heaven is a place where nothing ever happens.” In this case, “nothing” means a surprise that might seem unpleasant or even shocking at first, but which adds character, and a kind of personal history, as one becomes acquainted with the spirit that lies in wait.
Tasting Notes: Glenmorangie 25 Year Old
Appearance: Deep chestnut gold
Nose: Citrus as well as stone fruits emerge: oranges, peaches, apricots, and even a random strawberry. The classic Glenmorangie profile expands onto a much larger playing field with twenty-five years of maturation, along with the selection of some very favorable casks indeed. But there is more: aside from the fruitiness, there comes a delightful wave of sugar cookies, which border on actual cookie dough. There is also a hint of nuttiness on the initial palate that reminds one of sliced almonds.
When first poured, a faint acrid note wafts up, but this evaporates after a few minutes in the glass. What really caught my attention is the waxy note that lies beneath the fruit and the cookies. It moves in the direction of a venerable old Clynelish.
(For the record, we’re talking pre-1990. Oh bother, now I’m feeling nostalgic and it’s all the fault of Glenmorangie’s Quarter Cask. I really do miss those farmy briny Clynies of yesteryear that waxed eloquent.)
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Palate: A creamy-smooth mouth feel does not concentrate on the tongue or vie for attention with any rough edges whatsoever. Like the nose, it begins with a fruitiness; however, this time it evokes honeydew melon, as well as lemony citrus. The aforementioned almonds are now coated with pralines and caramel goodness. Lastly, a dollop of strawberry jam completes the palate, adding complexity to those sugar cookies that are so evident on the nose.
Finish: For such a gentle good-natured whisky at 43% strength, the finish is surprisingly long. Decadent and satisfying, to be sure. If you smack your tongue, ahhhh, the flavor of sugar cookies and pralines resurface. Otherwise, fruit swirls into a black hole of white chocolate, along with a touch of mint and nutmeg that obviously owes its late entrance to 25 long years of slumber in oak casks.
There is a surprisingly weak oaken presence in this whisky, especially on the nose and palate. But that does not make it any less enjoyable, unless a woody bitterness is required to round off such a sweet overall constitution.
Conclusion:
The Quarter Century commands respect without any bombast or fireworks, aside from some very attractive packaging. This Glenmorangie would make a fantastic gift for someone with an appreciation for a metallic gold box with a rather elegant bottle design waiting inside . . . and, lest I forget, a smart “art deco” style cork.
FINAL SCORE: 91/100
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