Glenmorangie 25 Year Old Quarter Century

Glenmorangie has always been one of my preferred distilleries, and that’s for one reason; consistency.

I know, part of the fun of buying/tasting whisky is batch variations. It’s fun to watch the Aberlours and Ardbegs of the world evolve and change with every batch. And indeed, the whisky world would be a much less interesting place without those batch variations. But the whisky world also needs the opposite. For me, Glenmorange is exactly that. It’s my ‘old faithful.’ Are there batch variations? Undoubtedly. But they’re rarely, if ever, detectable to me. It’s a distillery that is always dependable and usually affordable.

You’ll note that I said ‘usually’ affordable. There are exceptions. The 25 year old release is anything but cheap. But regardless, this dram doesn’t seem to have changed in the least since I last tried it several months ago. Here’s my take on it:

Nose: I’m first hit with Glenmo’s signature vanilla/marmalade sweetness; something I’ve noticed in several of their releases. Light oak. Toffee. Wisps of white wine. Floral notes. Lovely ripe fruit. Fresh oranges, apricot, plums, and lemon cough drops. Very fresh and fruity for such an old whisky.

Palate: Smooth, with oak and white pepper. More fruit. There’s an earthiness to this dram. More marmalade. There’s also some notes in here that remind me of soda. More specifically, ginger ale and Irn-Bru.

Finish: Coffee, ginger, oak, pepper, and milk chocolate carry us through the medium-long finish.

This is great stuff. Very sweet, inviting, and alive. It has a stronger presence and more complexity than the younger Glenmo’s, yet it still remains a vibrant and fruity dram at heart. Very vibrant and fresh, in fact. It’s nice to see such an old whisky still keep its youthful liveliness. A lovely little dram. Not much to complain about here, other than the usual “this should have a higher abv.” rant.

However, as other reviewers have mentioned; while this is good, it’s overpriced. I can think of several other equally delicious bottles I could buy for the same price as one bottle of this. But hey… if you can afford it, why not?

Glenmorangie is one of those distilleries that absolute does not allow its name to be printed on any independent release’s label. Although, of course, sometimes Glenmo is bottled by someone else. Remember the wonderful Westport by Malts of Scotland? And of course the Scotch Malt Whisky Society has bottled many casks, but that can be traced back to the fact that the SWMS is actually owned by the distillery. I digress. Let me get back to the rather expensive Glenmorangie 25 Year Old Quarter Century.

This Glenmorangie has a very sweet nose on quince, oranges and sultanas. Apple cake! Stewed plums and blackberry jam. Acacia honey. Beeswax. Very aromatic.

It is nicely oily and soft on the palate. Mildly spiced. The fruit from the nose is joined by sweet apples and the oranges are now turned into a marmalade. Fresh figs and a twig of eucalyptus. A bit floral. Somehow I am reminded of a lady in an orange dress (do not ask me why, maybe it is the shapely bottle).

It offers a very long finish with a twist: tannins, liquorice and something salty.

No need to quip, this is a grand Glenmorangie. Not easily found, I think. And the prices vary from 250 to 350 EUR. That, however, is overpriced in my opinion.

Nose: vanilla and fruit, intertwined with peat smoke, earthy peat and some brine. then back to the sweet malty notes as well as spices , vanilla and pepper. [I tried comparing this to Caol Ila 18 i have , and it’s a perfect match Islay wise… very similar notes.] A peppery Kugel, made before Shabbat. wow.

Palate : Starting with an assault of spice (pepper) , then peat-smoke , tar, with cereal sweetness on the sides. great balance and harmony of tastes.

Finish : Long with smoke staying there for quite some time, a wee fruitiness .

Bottom Line:

Wonderful marriage of highlands , Islands and Islay. Well made. great balance,and the interplay between peat smoke and fruit is lovely.

Nose: Deep as the grand canyon. Starting quite sweet with honeycomb sweet vanilla,big-time. dried fruit (plum), lemon drops, tinned apricot. , jam sweet.

Palate : Creamy and oily, heavy stuff, damp wood, vanilla, espresso , milk chocolate, continuing with quite a few spices (ginger,pepper) which die after a few seconds. the fruits are here too (from the nose) very ripe fruit.

Finish : Bitter cocoa, with some chocolate notes (sweet), oak and fruit.

Bottom line : It’s awesome. If you are rich, buy this. If not, Price / Quality ratio is not the best you can get out there, but hey – if you are into Glenmo, you need this one on your shelf. Period.