| Glenmorangie | | | | top. But running four wash and four spirit |
| | | | stills at-the -mme time takes great skill, |
| Single Highland Rare Malt Scotch Whisky | | | | especially as some of them behave |
| | | | differently. The longest serving man here, |
| Few distilleries have been as transformed I | | | | Kenny McDonald, has had .1 running battle |
| the malt explosion as Glenmorangie. 'In til | | | | with Number Two wash still tor years,' says |
| 1970s there were two stills and we were | | | | Graham. 'You can come in and he's yelling at |
| selling five cases of malt a year," says | | | | it. It just doesn't behave.' |
| manager Graham Eunson. 'Now we've go( eight | | | | |
| stills, we're the biggest selling malt in | | | | The water and stills each play their part in |
| little chance that success will breed | | | | creating Glenmorangie's spicy, pear-drop and |
| complacency here on the northeast coast; for | | | | apple character, but it is rounded out and |
| this is a firm that is forever asking why | | | | given added complexity by a wood policy, |
| trying out new ideas, trying to grasp the | | | | masterminded by Bill Lumsden, that's among |
| elusive secret of Scotch. You might expect | | | | the tightest in the industry. Not only does |
| space-age control panels, but you won't find | | | | the firm now insist on using only ex-Bourbon |
| any. | | | | casks made from air-dried wood from certain |
| | | | slopes in the Ozarks, but it also controls |
| 'I've yet to be convinced of the benefits) | | | | what type of warehouses are used to age the |
| computerization in a distillery,' says Graha | | | | Glenmorangie stocks. |
| 'And I'm yet to be convinced that the capit | | | | |
| expenditure needed to install computerization | | | | The 10-year-old, for example, has a recipe |
| justifies laying a man off. you replace a | | | | for first and second fill wood, so certain |
| mashman with computer equipment then you have | | | | types of casks are placed in certain types |
| to employ an evei more expensive engineer to | | | | and areas of warehouses. They are pinning it |
| solve any problems.' That was music to the | | | | down to the microclimate within each |
| ears of Brian Gilmour, who was mashing as we | | | | warehouse. With an ever-expanding range of |
| chatted. He was turning valves, nudging the | | | | finishes and plans to release a malt made |
| temperature this way and that, and always | | | | from barley grown on its own farm, the range |
| listening; for, as he explained, part of his | | | | just keeps growing. Graham believes this is |
| jol is knowing the significance of each sound | | | | the difference between a malt-led company and |
| -whether it's the change in pitch of the pump | | | | a blend-led one. |
| or the switchers girning away. 'The fact it's | | | | |
| manual keeps you involved,' he says. 'It giv< | | | | I worked for a blend-led firm before this and |
| it that personal touch - and there's always | | | | you were a number. The people who took the |
| something to be done!' | | | | decisions on whether you are open or shut |
| | | | didn't know who they were affecting or how |
| It means that Glenmorangie's long-running 16 | | | | their decisions impacted on people and |
| Men of Tain campaign is no PR gloss. Neither | | | | communities. The guys here have strong |
| are these old guys looking back with | | | | feelings about Glenmorangie's success. They |
| rose-tinted glasses. This is a youni team | | | | are the custodians of the distillery and the |
| well aware of the needs of today's J | | | | fact that they make something that's known |
| industry, but faithful to tradition. 'I'm a | | | | worldwide gives them enormous pride.' |
| traditionalist, but a realist as well,' says | | | | |
| Graham. T don't believe in change for | | | | TASTING NOTES |
| change's sake and altering production to cu | | | | |
| the workforce is beyond me. Can you imagine | | | | Glenmorangie 10-year-old |
| if Glenmorangie was the 16 megabytes of | | | | |
| Tain?' | | | | The benchmark distillery style: pear drops, |
| | | | light orange and citrus fruit, light spice |
| The workforce here understands their | | | | and a crisp note. Delicate but with a good, |
| distillery's little quirks - from the use of | | | | smooth and soft body. |
| ha water to the tall, slim stills that stand | | | | |
| like elegant pillars in the cathedral-like | | | | Glenmorangie 15-year-oldfinished in new wood |
| stillhou Their height and narrowness means | | | | 43%ABV Creme brulee, orange peel and vanilla. |
| not only this there's considerable interplay | | | | Light spice and a hint of sooty wood. A mix |
| between vapour and copper, but that only the | | | | of bracing air and vanilla on the finish. |
| lightest Vti pours can force their way to the | | | | |