Glenmorangie 18 Year Old

It’s a beautiul day, I’m off work, and how better could you spend an hour or 2 than sitting outside and enjoying a couple drams. I was having a Glenmo 18 and realized I hadn’t reviewed it yet so after a first dram, let’s break down this second one.

Bottle opened for 3 months and 90% full. Neat in a Glencairn.

Nose: A bright, sunny nose of chocolate, coffee beans, honey, toffee, and vanilla pudding. Also a malty/biscuit note. Warming in the hand/longer examination allows the vanilla and honey to move more toward the front while the chocolate/coffee notes lessen their prominence. It manages to be “bright” while still maintaining decent strength of flavor and depth. An excellent balancing act.

Palate: One of the themes of Glenmorangie whisky to me is the velvety, coating mouthfeel. I’ve noticed it in other whisky, but none more than Glenmo and it’s an endearing quality. Honey is the predominant flavor here, along with vanilla, toffee, and mocha. There is also and underlying malty/cereal note throughout that is almost like the “drone” note of a bagpipe that other notes are played on top of. Crisp, clean and balanced.

Finish: Rich honey and chocolate coat the palate then disappear.

Overall: This is really good stuff. Well balanced, able to retain both “light, bright” qualities as well as maintaining a rich depth. And this was $89USD (I imagine one of the few remaining 18 year olds still under $100). My one wish? 46-50% abv. The 43% is fine, but I feel like being bottled at 46-50% would unlock even more here. Glenmo continues to impress me (with the exception of the Lasanta). The 10yo, 14yo, and 18yo are all great whiskies at still reasonable prices.

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