Tag: Lumsden

Glenmorangie Tusail

The good folks at Glenmorangie continue to explore new flavours and forge new paths in their pursuit of interesting and tasty whiskies.  Well, I say “good folks”, but perhaps “the good doctor” would be more appropriate, as it is Dr Bill Lumsden who has once again pushed the boundaries and played around with the ingredients.

Whilst it would be easy to rest on their laurels and be satisfied with their core range aged expressions (The Original, 18yo, 25yo, etc) and the Extra-Matured set (Quinta Ruban, Lasanta, and Nectar d’Or), Glenmorangie continues to add to their portfolio with their Private Edition whiskies.  These include releases such as Ealanta, Companta, Taghta, etc, and you can read Whisky & Wisdom’s reviews on these also.  (Links further below).  But let’s get to the point:  Glenmorangie’s latest release and the new kid on the block is the Tusail.  (Gaelic for originary)

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How wood you like that?

[Update:  Aspects of the below article are considerably expanded upon and covered in more detail in our comprehensive feature piece, “The complete guide to oak and whisky maturation” which we suggest you head straight to now and read here. ]

Whisky maturation is a complex process. You’ve doubtless heard or read the oft-accepted mantra that the spirit’s contact with the wood during maturation contributes as much as 60-70% to the whisky’s final flavour.

When it comes to playing around with wood and cask experimentation, few do it better than Glenmorangie.  Often credited with the innovation of “finishing” (although Balvenie may beg to differ), Glenmorangie was certainly the first to commercially release a range of whiskies where the whisky was matured primarily in one type of cask, and then given a second period of maturation in a different cask.    The “Port Wood” expression was one of my early favourites, having spent 10 years or so in bourbon wood, before being finished for 6-12 months in port pipes.

20 years on, finishing is so common now, it’s passé.   For some companies, it also makes economic sense:  Not every distillery can afford to invest in expensive sherry casks for a 12 year maturation, but some impressive results can be had by re-racking the whisky in first-fill sherry butts for just 6-12 months.  Not surprisingly, the results merge and marry the characteristics of the contributing parent casks, and any number of permutations and possibilities can be trialled.   Tired or non-performing whiskies can also be rescued:  For some distillers, finishing the spirit in a new or exotic cask can polish or breathe life into whisky that was flat or over-cooked.  We won’t name names, but a number of resurrected distilleries have had to do this to rescue tired casks that were inherited when the distillery’s ownership changed hands.

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Glenmorangie “The Taghta”

The latest (and very special) release from Glenmorangie had its first Australian outing on 17th October when Glenmorangie Taghta was showcased as the Welcome Dram at the Spring Tasting of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society in Sydney.

As attendees entered the room for the tasting evening, they were handed a dram of this deliciously-amber looking whisky, but were not told what it was. A short while later during the official welcome and introduction for the night, a quick straw poll was taken with the question, “Who liked this whisky?”   Every hand in the room went up, and it was then that its identity and story was told.

Glenmorangie Taghta (pronounced too-tah) is being billed as a crowd-sourced whisky.   It’s not all too dissimilar to what Glenlivet did with their Guardian’s release late last year.  The difference on this occasion is that the crowd (the so-called “Cask Masters”) came from 30 different countries and participated in every part of the process: The bottle design, the labelling, the photography, and – most importantly of all – the selection of the whisky.

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Ardbeg Auriverdes

Ardbeg Day and Auriverdes 

Ardbeg. The very name conjures up evocative images, flavours, and pre-conceived ideas. For many, it means a big, peaty, smoky, Islay whisky. For others, it represents complexity, refinement, sweetness, and quality. Some link the name to the decline and downturn of the Scotch industry in the 1980’s, resulting in distillery closures and cutbacks. Many of those same folks also link the name to a Phoenix-like resurrection, given the distillery came back from the dead in 1997 and now struts the roost with style and finesse.

For me, it is all of those things, plus one more: Fun.

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