ANOTHER BRILLIANT AGED MALT WHISKY FROM GLENMORANGIE

Glenmorangie launches Grand Vintage 1997

SEVENTH EDITION OF THE BOND HOUSE NO. 1 COLLECTION

To get to know the latest Glenmorangie whisky expression, you have to travel back in time. 1997 was a year many still harbour vivid recollection of. A year in which the sovereignty of Hong Kong was transferred back to China from the British government and the Indian tricolour was hoisted at the North Pole for the first time, among other historical moments. Over in Scotland, something magical was at its genesis; the seeds of the Glenmorangie Grand Vintage Malt 1997 had been sown.   

Dr Bill Lumsden joined Glenmorangie more than 25 years ago, aiming to elevate the Highland single malt in flavours and possibilities. Soon after walking through the doors of the distillery in 1995, he laid down the challenge to reshape the single malt. It was an ambitious plan given Glenmorangie has been re-imagined time and again by whisky makers who inherited this colossal responsibility since its founding over 175 years ago. 

By 1997, when Glenmorangie Grand Vintage Malt 1997 was distilled, Lumsden had already magnified its fruity finesse by altering the moment that spirit was taken from the distillery’s giraffe-high stills. These high stills permitted more space for taste and aroma. Captivated by the flavours the art of wood finishing promised, Lumsden started exploring how rare wine casks could shape Glenmorangie’s taste. 

It was his innate curiosity and daring that herded him to experiment the spirit with wood. After ageing for nearly a decade in bourbon casks, a parcel was transferred into a small number of Château Montrose red wine casks, sourced from the sought-after Saint-Estèphe appellation located in Bordeaux. 

Never before such a unique finish was tried at Glenmorangie. Lumsden’s vision was to imprint the eventual whisky with the wine casks’ distinctive soft, red fruit notes. But the journey wasn’t at its end. Lumsden had an even grander idea. To impart classic citrus notes, the whisky was aged in bourbon casks for ten years. And to give it a layered sweetness and spice, it was finished long in Oloroso sherry casks. One element not revealed to anyone is a secret collection of casks used in the ageing process. The single malt developed extraordinary berried depths over the course of 13 years.

23 years of deliberate ageing leads us to this seventh release in the Bond House No. 1 Collection, truly reflective of the new dawn heralded by Lumsden over two decades ago. Named after the largest of Glenmorangie’s 19th-century Bonded Warehouses, the whiskies of Bond House No. 1 vintage series are created from some of Glenmorangie’s most prized parcels of aged whisky. For generations, Warehouse No. 1 was home to casks of maturing spirit until in 1990, it was transformed into a majestic new still house. Today, Bonded Warehouse No. 1 is the heart of the distillery’s whisky creation.

Glenmorangie had launched Bond House No 1, an exclusive collection of vintage single malt whiskies in 2016. The inaugural expression of the collection, Grand Vintage Malt 1990, told the story of that memorable year in the history of the Distillery, when Warehouse No 1, where the Distillery’s casks of maturing spirit were kept, was transformed into a majestic still house, renowned for having the tallest stills in Scotland.

The year 1990 was also known for a barley harvest that proved problematic for whisky makers. Despite the challenges, Glenmorangie nurtured the spirit to create a whisky defined by its elegance and overflowing with floral and fruity aromas. Aged for 25 years in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks, the vintage was the first expression of a collection that was joined by other unique single malt whiskies in the years thereafter.

The distillery’s continual quest for excellence in crafting and ageing whisky has inspired the creation of a collection of vintage whiskies that blend tradition and innovation. Created for connoisseurs and collectors, the collection celebrates the most prestigious aged whisky.

Glenmorangie Single Malt Scotch Whisky has now revealed its Grand Vintage Malt 1997, the seventh addition to its award-winning Bond House No 1 Collection. The 23-year-old expression, along with its predecessor, Grand Vintage Malt 1996, is among the oldest liquids to be matured in the distillery’s bespoke casks.

Owned by Moet Hennessey, Glenmorangie distillery has continued to reap the rewards of an experiment first took shape in the 1980s. Glenmorangie whisky makers went to great lengths to create a unique cask to age their signature liquid. They travelled to Missouri’s Ozark Mountains, where trees grow slower, to handpick American white oaks that would naturally bring more creaminess to the whisky. Barrels were then made to precise specifications and seasoned with select bourbon to bring them to their best.

The experiment has since proved tremendously successful with highly-rated releases – like the Glenmorangie Astar, and the heart of Glenmorangie Original – already coming from the casks following their first fill in 1996. The Glenmorangie Grand Vintage 1996, bottled at a mellow 43%, was the oldest maturation yet to come from the casks.

TASTING NOTES

COLOUR: Bottled at 43% ABV, the Glenmorangie Grand Vintage Malt 1997 radiates a deep ochre. 

NOSE: An amazing, fruit-perfumed complexity. Floral notes of roses, jasmine and cloves mix with aromas of red berries, mint toffee, pastries or cakes and top notes of sweets. With a little water, more mild, floral notes of roses and cloves emerge, with a subtle spiciness of sweet chilli, cloves and ginger.

PALATE: A slightly tingling, gently spicy taste is followed by a symphony of sweet candy flavours, red berry fruits with pineapple and pear and mandarin wedges in fruit jelly. With sweet notes of ginger and chilli, fine marzipan and candied apples.

FINISH:  Sweet, rich, long and delicately spicy.