Highlands region – 46% ABV – $109 – $129
Most of my whisky friends know all too well that I am a Glenmorangie junky. Some might suggest I have a bias toward their whiskies.
Replace “Halfling’s leaf” with Glenmorangie’s whiskies in the following audio clip and you’ll see what I’m getting at:
While I’ll admit that Glenmorangie whiskies are among my favorite (though I’ll bol, I would submit that I have no issue announcing when I do not like a whisky they release.
The Ealanta is the fourth is their Private Edition range as well as the oldest in the series (it’s also the priciest one on the series).
Glenmorangie has access to some of the most premium slow-growth oak trees in Missouri and they usually cut the wood, season it for two years, make up casks, send them to Jack Daniels and Heaven Hill so they could make their whiskey THEN those distilleries send the casks to Glenmorangie so they could mature their whisky.
What’s different here is that Glenmorangie sent themselves the new wood and did the full 19 year maturation of their malt whisky (after having charred the casks heavily).
Something tells me that this might be one for the folks who also enjoy good, high end bourbons. Let’s find out..
On the nose – New charred oak goodness!
Actually, what strikes me the most is that there is a zingy zestiness in here that is very rye-like.
Perhaps a little dill, rye seed and fresh cut grass.
That classic Glenmorangie ripe peach note is still present (you can’t beat great spirit). Pencil erasers.
Toasted tangerine skins (sort of like a tangerine black pu’er tea I have).
On the mouth – Insanely silky mouthfeel and, flavor wise is much like that tangerine black pu’er tea I noted above.
Vanilla (slight) and honey (heavy).
Sweetness is to this whisky as a wall of death is to a late 80’s/early 90’s mosh pit. Powerfully sweet, verging on cloying (but not quite there, thankfully).
A touch of salt and black pepper as I chew this one a little more. And now we have some extra dark chocolate as we reach the finish.
Finish – Drying, long and darkly sweet with a mix of tangerine and more dark chocolate.
In sum – While this has obvious characteristics of a whisky from new oak, it also has some other element in here that I just can’t explain. The label says heavily charred oak but the color seems light — maybe there’s a mixture of lightly toasted and heavily charred oak?
Either way, it’s another Glenmo that pushes the envelope again with its focus on different types of cask maturation. Well done.
This is a mid-summer dram for me.
Special thanks to Mr. David Blackmore for the sample!
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