Glenmorangie The Duthac

The Duthac is the inaugural release of Glenmorangie's Legends range, which along with their Tarlogan and Tayne, is exclusive to travel retail.

Apparently St. Duthac was born around 1000, and the "legends of his workings drew travellers from far and wide". Hey Dr. Bill, who writes this stuff? "Workings"??? What is a working? Anyway, after he died he was named the patron saint of Tain (where the distillery is) and people made pilgrimages to his resting place, including King James IV, who visited annually.

What has this got to do with the whisky? Nothing. But the majority of this NAS whisky is ex-bourbon cask, with some casks matured in Pedro Ximenez and some matured in virgin oak blended in.

The colour is a coppery gold. On the nose we have raisins, balsamic vinegar, pear, red apple skins and toffee. Cloves and vanilla pods. Milk chocolate. Christmas cake. Creme caramel. Quite tannic and fruity. Lots of sweetness and sherry, with some spice and a little smoke. Water flattens out the nose. Quite nice but the sherry is a wee bit overdone.

On the palate there is loads of spice, with marzipan, deep sherry, espresso bean and this time, dark chocolate. Woody and jammy (strawberry, blackberry). Some papaya, nutmeg and a hint of ginger in the background. Water increases the spice and oak. Quite complex.

The finish is a bit rough with juicy grape, pepper, wood smoke and plums. When I first opened this bottle on Thanksgiving in October, I didn't like it very much, but perhaps a few months of air has improved it - I'm getting much more complexity out of it than I did at the time. Or maybe it was just too much turkey...in any case, if you like a good sherried, spicy malt, you have found it.

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