IT may be one of the world’s best selling whiskies, but it is surely the most mispronounced. I’ve been version corrected to ‘Glenm-orangie’ (think orangey).
Over a weekend last month, I’ve also learned that there is far more to Glenmorangie than just another distillery and the standard range you find in pubs.
The story of Glenmorangie, which means “Valley of Tranquillity”, begins in 1843 with a farming couple, the Mathesons, who started distilling in Tain. By the time of long-serving distillery manager Gordon L Smart, the workforce had grown into the so-called “16 Men of Tain”.
“Today it’s more the 35 or so men and women of Tain,” smiles Vicky MacDonald of Glenmorangie, as she welcomes me warmly to Glenmorangie House, their nearby boutique hotel. This grand old bolthole on a bluff overlooking the North Sea was reborn during Covid when they engaged London designers Russell Sage Studio to give it a funky makeover.
The designers have done a spectacular job. Think a bold colour palette of deep blue and orange, with a gold leaf ceiling in the main living room. There are giraffes dotted around, a nod to the stills, Scotland’s tallest. I find a surfboard made from whisky barrels; a bike too. The gorgeous bedrooms have whisky themes and even the candles whiff of fine malts to continue the theme of telling whisky stories. We were out in the newer cottages, which have a similar décor theme.
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It’s a fun place to stay. There are lashings of outdoor sitting areas, a walled garden, a table tennis table and loads of walking options. I ease down an avenue lined with trees to the rocky shoreline for a paddle, then push on to the Cadboll Stone, an eight-foot-high beautifully carved replica of a Pictish stone now in the National Museum in Edinburgh.
I settle in too for a tasting from their brilliantly stocked whisky bar. Glenmorangie has an impressive range, with around 30 whisky expressions currently on sale. Moving beyond the standard range, I find a fitting new favourite in the Cadboll. This dram uses 100% local barley from the area in and around Cadboll. It’s a smooth, sweet honey-coloured delight that I don’t feel the need to add any water to.
Other expressions that stand out are the chocolate malt barley-imbued Signet. MacDonald explains: “It’s a very special malt that they only make once a year”. This richly flavoured non-age statement whisky demonstrates that Glenmorangie is keen to innovate, like sister distillery Ardbeg in Islay.
Glenmorangie offers a real epicurean experience. Amy McAngus, senior front of house and a skilled mixologist, sweeps me through a whisky cocktail-making session. And young chef Finlay takes me foraging along the beach and in the fields unearthing some delights I’d normally dismiss as weeds. The wasabi-style punchy offering from the shore is the highlight. Finlay’s cooking is a joy – his halibut laced with a spoot reduction is divine, each course on his tasting menu accompanied by a matching whisky.
Pushing on to the distillery, Maisie Campbell, a dynamic 18-year-old guide from the local area, sweeps me off on a “World of Wonder” tour. Campbell talks up Glenmorangie’s green credentials:
“Glenmorangie bought up 800 acres of land to stop development and protect their water source. And we are now a zero-waste distillery. Even the 5% of waste we use through an oyster regeneration programme. It’s guilt-free whisky.”
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I find change afoot at the distillery. “Earlier this year, we had a big refurb of the visitor experience to bring it up to date and brighten it up,” explains Campbell. This translates into the big, bold colours I found at Glenmorangie House, brightening up the walls of the historic distillery core.
The tour highlight is those stills. They really do soar, but they are not just there to trump other distilleries. “The tall height of the stills really catches those light, sweet and fruity vapours so they help create that light sweetness people associate with Glenmorangie,” adds Campbell.
A tasting finishes things off with a quartet of drams. I appreciate distilleries who try and add a twist to tastings. We have a wee canape of cheese, meat or chocolate to go with each dram. The white chocolate with the Signet proves an ideal marriage. The Infinita 18-year-old is my favourite dram. The non-age statement Tale Of Tokyo is a striking expression too, unusually matured in rare Japanese casks.
Exploring the distillery you cannot miss the gleaming new glass tower, the Lighthouse, built in 2022. I quiz Campbell and she explains that it is a “top-secret centre of experimentation”. It features a brace of tall (of course) stills and even its own mash tuns and other whisky-making paraphernalia in a self-contained distillery with a distillery.
I meet Ed Thom, Glenmorangie’s distillery manager, a man with huge experience in the industry. I gently push him on what they’re up to in the glass tower. “I can tell you we’ve laid some whisky down and there will be a few surprises when it’s released,” he smiles.
I’d expect nothing less from a distillery that is far more than just Scotland’s most mispronounced.
For more information on Glenmorangie Distillery and Glenmorangie House, visit www.glenmorangie.com
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