A forest tale from Glenmorangie
Scotch whisky recipe doesn't give distillers much room for maneuver when it comes to shaping the final whisky profile. Only barley malt, water and yeast may be used in the production of single malt whisky, and maturation must take place in oak barrels. So it's hardly surprising that whiskey producers are standing on their heads trying to use these ingredients in the most creative way possible. as it seems, the greatest scope here is given to the last element of the process, i.e. maturation.
Already in the 1980s began an intensive search for whisky flavor variations derived from the use of unusual casks for maturation, other than the standard and commonly used bourbon and sherry casks. There have been ideas to use barrels from other liquors, including all kinds of wines, rum, cognac and even calvados. Later it was time to experiment with preparing the inside of standard barrels. Admittedly, here there is not much room for maneuver, but the idea of firing the interior more intensively yielded interesting results, for example, in the case of Ardbeg Alligator. The intensely fired interior of the barrel resembled alligator skin, which was used in the whisky's name, and the thicker layer of charcoal created as a result of such processing accelerated some of the whisky's maturation processes.
Launched by Singleton of Auchroisk, taken up later by Balvenie and Glenmorangie and creatively developed by Bruichladdich and Murray McDavid, the trend of so-called "finishing" whisky is now used by probably all Scotch whisky producers and bottlers. It relies on the fact that whisky initially matured from old, used casks is subjected to a short final maturation process in carefully selected and extremely active (usually first-fill) barrels that previously held liquor other than standard bourbon. It is not uncommon that a few months are enough to completely change or even just significantly enrich the profile of a whisky treated in this way.
The search for novel sources of enriched taste sensations offered by whisky finally led to experiments on the fuel used to fire the inside of barrels. We have already written here about the Irish whiskey Currach, which underwent a final maturation phase in barrels fired with dried seaweed. Apparently, however, the idea has also germinated in the minds of at least one Scottish manufacturer.
Glenmorangie A Tale of the Forest is a whisky whose creation was inspired by the aromas of forest undergrowth, pleasing the sense of smell of one of the better-known innovators in the Scottish distilling world, Dr. Bill Lumsden. His walks in the woods near his home resulted in a project that used an array of plant elements to burn the inside of the barrels, including juniper berries, birch bark and heather. According to the maker of the new whisky, this method of preparing the casks is intended to, in effect, allow the aromas of the forest to be transferred to the whisky.
According to the manufacturer, Glenmorangie A Tale of the Forest is to offer in its bouquet notes of pine needles, juniper fruit, wood smoke, forest moss, but also accents of eucalyptus, mint and bitter oranges. It was bottled in a limited edition, available only in one of the UK chain stores, from October 3-17. Whisky contains 46% alcohol by volume, and buying a single bottle will drain our budget by £75. No mention was made of plans for its wider distribution.
Glenmorangie A Tale of the Forest is the third edition as part of a series of "stories" from Glenmorangie. Previously we received A Tale of Cake, finished in dessert tokay barrels, and A Tale of Winter, finished in marsala barrels.
Founded in 1843, the Glenmorangie distillery is one of the better-known producers of Scotch malt whisky. in the early 1990s was one of the forerunners of the aforementioned technique of additional whiskey maturation (the so-called. wood finishing). A distinctive feature of Glenmorangie is distillation in Scotland's tallest alembics, equipped with long, slender necks of tempering apparatus more than 5 meters high. Recently, a new, thoroughly modern distillery, The Lighthouse, was erected on the site of the distillery, with the main purpose of enabling further experimentation. So we can expect Glenmorangie to surprise us more than once in the foreseeable future. And not just with the new layout of the whisky on offer, as was the case at the end of July this year.
The current offerings of the House of Whisky Online include a wide range of whiskies, sourced from Glenmorangie. And the latest news straight out of Tain, Scotland, is this Glenmorangie A Tale of the Forest will no longer be available only in one of the UK chain stores, as we wrote above. Around October 3, you can also expect it in our House of Whisky Online. You are cordially invited to visit.
[23.09.2022 / photo: Glenmorangie]