Review #92 - Glenmorangie 10 Year The Original
10 Year Highlander Series: Part 2 of 4
A no-frills, straightforward, widely available and reasonably priced Highland 10 year old whisky - this is the second of our series, The Original from Glenmorangie. From one of the most popular distilleries in Scotland, one that has been an entry point into this category of spirits for a huge number of whisky fans, this is their entry level offering, a 10 year old with exclusive bourbon cask maturation.
Glenmorangie shares an ownership party with Ardbeg - Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy. They also share the man behind the brand: Dr. Bill Lumsden, Glenmorangie's head of distilling & whisky creation. He's credited as one of the pioneers of wood experimentation in whisky aging, and has been managing Glenmorangie for nearly 3 decades. While this whisky doesn't have any exotic maturation, it will surely still hold his fingerprint due to its barrel selection.
Glenmorangie 10 Year The Original
Scotland/Highlands - Single Malt
Current Locally Available Price: USD 33 (2023)
Age Statement: 10 Years
Strength: 43% ABV
Cask Makeup: 100% Ex-bourbon casks
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 4 times over 15 months; bottles at 50%, 100%, 50% (blind tasting), and 20% (blind tasting) fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes
Nose: Mellow and a bit simple starting out, slightly oaky, clearly leaning into those ex-bourbon cask flavors of soft oak, cinnamon, pears, dry vanilla, and other baking notes like clove and maple syrup. The spirit and grain influence is there, with oats and oatmeal, honey, a hint of youth as well... then we get more fruits of grape jam, orange peel, maybe even a mild grape candy. With more time, this opens up and becomes sweeter, and there's the tiniest whiff of smoke on the back end, maybe a wood smoke. Overall, somewhat light and inoffensive.
Palate: The mouthfeel is medium-thin; there is the actually a little more oiliness than expected, and a bit more oaky spice: cinnamon, clove, honey, and vanilla bean all come in waves, and the spirit character is stronger and cleaner now, but still comes across a bit young and warm with solid grain and oat flavors. One time we got a whiff of tobacco smoke, and on another, it was more of a slightly burnt French bread crust; past some wood spice and wood sugars, it's sweeter overall, and we end with a hint of cream.
Finish: It's a medium-short finish, casual warmth and spirit notes coming across with dusty grain and oats, along with some lemon oil. Oak presence is pretty muted, and this whole experience turns a bit drier with dry vanilla (or some vanilla extract later), a hint of cloves and white pepper, but it ends with a smoother honey note.
Final Note: We tried to give this some time, but we're struggling to connect. It isn't a bad or seriously flawed whisky, it's just... okay. The flavors are relatively plain, and the lower strength and likely chill filtering dampen the experience a bit further. Value is actually alright just because this bottle is so cheap, but if you've passed the beginning of your Scotch journey, this bottle might have diminishing returns.
Our Average Rating: 5.4 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 6.60
