The Glenmorangie 10 yo Scotch

The Glenmorangie 10 yo Single Highland Malt Scotch Whisky. 86 proof, standard tall bottle, may have tube packaging, 750ml, about $30-40.



This is the younger sibling to the 18 yo I reviewed back in December of 2003 (here). This Glenmorangie 10 yo is 86 proof but older versions were 80 proof and may still be found on the shelves.

Today was a typical Sunday of mowing the lawn in the morning and then goofing off the rest of the day. After lunch I picked a Torano 1916 out of the humi and a dram of the Glenmorangie and parked my butt on the picnic deck under our big shade tree. Letting the Glenmorangie sit in the glass for about 15 minutes while I fiddled with the radio and a few other things allowed it to breathe more then it would normally before nosing.

With a color of light straw this Glenmorangie noses a sweet, delicate, flowery yet oaky scent. Tasting has a nice toasted malt background with a bit of spices and sweetness. The finish is really very long with a slight drying on the sides of the tongue. Nuts and oak flavor slowly fade rather nicely. IMO, this is a better drink then the 18 yo and comes in at a very reasonable price too. While perhaps not a "must have" it is a "should have" in any reasonable collection and should certainly be bought before the Glenmorangie 18. BTW, the Torano was a pretty good match to this too.

I attended a tasting with the 10 year, 12 year, & 18 year. The 18 has a port finish if I remember correctly. Either way I didn't particularly care for that one.

The 10yr was very nice but I really thought the 12yr was awesome.

Thanks for the review AVB. :thumbs:

Yeah, Glemorangie must do half a dozen different wood finishes but this was just a regular version.

Here is a malt I come back to every once in a while, but I don't keep a bottle around like I do my favorites. However, this is one of those once-in-a-whiles, so here is my review:

Color in the glass is quite light, not quite straw, but darn close. The nose shortly after pouring is very "fresh", with a strong spirity aroma (big surprise, right? hah; but this is more pronounced than I normally find). The alcoholic nose makes the aromas quite lively for a bit, with an interplay between sweet malt, honey, flowers, and hints of citrus. After it rests for a while the lighter aromas are replaced with warm, round aromas of oak (toasty), honey (but brown honey this time, heavier, darker), and vanilla caramel. The longer it sits, the stronger the vanilla and caramel aroma gets.

The flavor is very nice, this is a lighter whisky than those I usually drink and I enjoy the change of pace. It has a malty core, of course, but there's a large dose of honeyed sweetness, along with a moderate smokiness, and some of that citrus shows up again every few drinks. It has a fairly long finish that is mainly malt and smoke. I find very little smoke in the aroma, but a fair bit in the flavor (it's certainly not the primary component, but it's a substantial contributor nonetheless).

This is a fine whisky, but I don't believe it's worth the price compared to many others on the market, thus it is not one of my regulars, but it is an occasional repeat purchase for me.

The history of the distillery is somewhat interesting. Licensed in 1843, rather than buying or making new stills the distillery bought used stills from a defunct gin operation. These stills were taller and narrower than those generally used by whisky distilleries, likely resulting in the lighter, more lively spirit I find with Glenmorangie. A couple trivia points: (1) in each summer during WWI, the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders used the malt barns as barracks; (2) the distillery has, for at least 90 years, maybe longer, employed only sixteen workers, the "Sixteen Men of Tain."

Overall this is a nice malt to try, but I would not rush out to buy a bottle. Look for it when you go to the bar or a nice restaurant and order a dram, and if you happen to love it by all means buy all you like, but for my personal taste there are numerous other whiskies I'd rather spend my $45.00 on (most of the time; as I said, every once in a while the mood strikes me and I grab a bottle :laugh: ).

I'm really surprised this one doesn't come up more often especially as a recommendation for people looking to try a decent single malt without making a huge investment. The Total Wine Store in Tucson carries this for $28.99 and Glenmorangie put out some $4.00 off per bottle coupons that expire today so I stocked up. Sometimes I think people shy away from these 10 year olds thinking 12 is the standard. If that is the case you are truly missing out on this one.

@ $24.99 I can't get enough of this one!

sigar_zealot said:

I'm really surprised this one doesn't come up more often especially as a recommendation for people looking to try a decent single malt without making a huge investment. The Total Wine Store in Tucson carries this for $28.99 and Glenmorangie put out some $4.00 off per bottle coupons that expire today so I stocked up. Sometimes I think people shy away from these 10 year olds thinking 12 is the standard. If that is the case you are truly missing out on this one.

@ $24.99 I can't get enough of this one!

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I too picked up a few bottles of this, though a few weeks back. Mine came with the sample bottle of Quinta Ruban. The Glenmorangie 10 YO is a great introductory whisky for those that have never tried.