Glenmorangie Distillery

The Glenmorangie Distillery was founded in 1843 by William Matheson, himself a former distillery manager, at Tain in the Scottish Highlands. The location had been a brewery prior to this, which was said to have been in operation for over a century.

After a severe downturn in the first half of the 20 th century due to prohibition in the US and rationing in the UK brought on by WWII, Glenmorangie quickly recovered after the war. It underwent its first big expansion in 1980, doubling the number of stills from two to four. That doubled once again to eight in 1990 in order to keep up with demand.

After almost 90 years of ownership, Macdonald and Muir sold their majority stake in Glenmorangie to French company Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton in 2004. The new owners soon set out on a path of extensive rebranding to boost appeal in the luxury market.

Today the Glenmorangie Company claims to have the tallest stills in Scotland at 8m in height. Of course, these are much improved on the first two second-hand gin stills Matheson set up in the converted brewery. The height of the still is meant to ensure that only the purest vapors reach the top, meaning the spirits emerging from the distillation process are as smooth as can be.

Water for the Glenmorangie Distillery is drawn from the Tarlogie Spring that runs past it down from the hills above. Protecting this highland spring that underpins their craft has historically been a priority for the distillery. Enough so that, when it looked as if developers could move into the area in the 1980s, the company bought over 600 acres of land in the area, including the springs.

American white oak casks make up the foundation of the maturing process, with all ranges resting for at least 10 years in the ex-bourbon casks. The Original finishes aging there but is still considered a high-quality single malt known for its citrus and vanilla notes, with a clean orange aftertaste.

Other expressions such as the Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban, Glenmorangie Lasanta and Glenmorangie Nectar D’Or will undergo further aging in casks that previously held Port, Sherry, and Sauternes wine under the guidance of Dr Bill Lumsden.

Lumsden took over as distillery manager in 1994 and outside of these core expressions under his leadership Glenmorangie has released a large number of special edition bottlings. These are known for experimenting with different flavours and finishes such as the distinctive roasted “chocolate” barley malt of the Signet. Or the Sonnalta PX which spends its final two years of maturation in Spanish ex-Pedro Ximenez sherry casks.