Glenmorangie Distillery: In the heart of the Scottish Highlands

The kilts are out on the Sunday I arrive in Scotland.

Dubbed the Greatest Rugby Tournament in the World, the Six Nations match has Scotland winning 29-18 over France in Edinburgh. It’s the first time in 10 years that Scotland has won over France, ending the drought that every Scot had been feeling pain for in the past decade.

Of course, the victory is celebrated the only way Scots do — by drinking Scotch whisky. Loads and loads of it. It’s not called “the water of life” for nothing.

The whisky of choice to celebrate the historic match is Scotland’s favorite single malt whisky — Glenmorangie. The same whisky that actress and sex symbol Brigitte Bardot once had 36 cases (432 bottles) shipped to her homes in Paris, St. Tropez and Geneva. Because like Mark Twain said, “Too much of anything is bad, but too much good whisky is barely enough.”

So, every tourist doing a whisky tour has the historic Glenmorangie Distillery, located in the heart of the Scottish Highlands, on their itinerary. It’s a must for whisky lovers.

Getting to the Highlands is a scenic four-hour drive from Glasgow. Even in winter, the scenery is spectacular with mountain ranges and ancient rocks all around, and the color of winter slowly giving way to spring’s greens in some parts. It does look like a movie set for a period film — the kind where men rode horses and the ladies walked around with dainty lace handkerchiefs in their hands.

My own whisky tour starts at the Tarlogie Springs, the uniquely mineral-rich water source used to produce Glenmorangie (in Gaelic, the name means Valley of Big Peace). To protect the purity of the springs, the company bought the surrounding 840 acres in 1989. And indeed, you can taste the difference between the water here and an ordinary bottle of spring water found on supermarket shelves.

From here, the water is piped down to the distillery and straight into the mash. “It’s one of our more unique elements,” my guide tells me. “It’s common for Scottish distilleries to use soft water, but we’re using hard water supply that’s very rich in minerals and that helps feed the fermentation. It makes it more pitty.”

Not far from the springs is the Glenmorangie Distillery. Located in the heart of the Scottish Highlands, in the Royal Burgh of Tain, it was founded in 1843 starting as a small venture by farmer William Mathesan. It’s possible he built his farm there because of the water source nearby.

A pioneer and a visionary, Mathesan broke whisky-making tradition by purchasing two ex-gin stills rather than using onion-shaped stills. “That move is central to our story of innovating whisky production and, today, each one of our 12 stills is modeled on those two original stills.”

To this day, Glenmorangie has the tallest stills in the country. “Mathesan laid the foundations of what would become one of the most famous single-malt Scotch whiskies in the world.”

The stills are as tall as the neck of a giraffe and stylized versions of the animal can be found in the souvenir shop and at the Glenmorangie House.

The centerpiece of the distillery is the cathedral-like Still House with its 12 copper stills, where raw ingredients like malted barley are transformed into award-winning whisky.

Glenmorangie is the most-awarded malt whisky brand by the IWSC, the most prestigious and internationally recognized awards body. It has won more “Best in Class” and “Gold Outstanding” awards than any of its competitors.

Whisky expert and writer Jim Murray describes Glenmorangie Original as “complexity at its most complex,” scoring 94 out of 100 in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible 2015 and awarding Glenmorangie Ealanta Whisky of the Year in 2014.

An old black-and-white picture at the distillery takes visitors back to the “16 Men of Tain,” the original men who oversaw every stage of the Glenmorangie production. Today, the distillery employs more people, but the tradition of those 16 legendary men lives on.

What was also interesting to me was being in the cask room and later tasting how different casks influence the taste of different whisky expressions.

Glenmorangie Original, the flagship of the brand, is matured in the finest first and second-fill bourbon casks for a minimum period of 10 years. Quinta Ruban is also aged in bourbon casks, which give it hints of nutmeg, raisins and orange. Nectar D’Or is aged in port casks and carries a touch of malty spice and berry fruits. Lasanta gets its somewhat sweet taste from spending 10 years in bourbon casks before spending another two in sherry casks from Jerez in Spain.

Ealanta is matured in heavily toasted white oak casks from Missouri’s Ozard mountains and named after the Gaelic word for “skilled” and “ingenious.” This may be my favorite from the Glenmorangie Private Edition expressions for its fruity and almost zesty spirit.

At the Glenmorangie House in Cadboll, another small town in the Highlands, a unique tasting awaits me.

Glenmorangie Signet, first released in late 2008, is a first in the industry and recognized as a chocolate malt whisky.

In a normal tasting, you use only four of the five senses — sight, smell, taste and touch of the whisky in your mouth. What makes this Signet tasting awesome is that it incorporates the fifth sense: hearing. Through the headset, a voice instructs me when to smell the whisky, swirl it (two or three times) and when to add water.

Remember that to be classified as a single malt Scotch whisky, the grain used must be malted barley (as opposed to rye that some American brands use), it must be distilled using pot stills in a single distillery and aged at least three years in oak casks.

So it’s incredible that Signet has this strong chocolate taste especially when you first add a few drops of water, then when you add few more, the citrus taste is released.

This is the genius of Dr. Bill Lumsden, Glenmorangie head of distilling and whisky creation. Amy from the Glenmorangie House tells me that according to stories, Dr. Lumsden first thought of making chocolate whisky when he was in university. He loved the Jamaican coffee Blue Mountain and he loved his tipple, too. So he got to combine the two at Glenmorangie.

But how did they get that nice cocoa taste? By over-roasting the barley (in high heat and over a short period of time) and letting the whisky mature in “designer casks” made of oak wood, which takes 150 years to grow and hence 10 times more expensive than regular oak casks. They also put in their oldest whisky, distilled over 30 years ago when malting still occurred on the site.

Signet is described “as the richest whisky in the Glenmorangie range.” When it was first released, whisky and non-whisky drinkers immediately loved it. Because of the big flavors, it appeals to a lot of women drinkers, beginners and purists. Amy describes the taste as “magical.”

Signet has earned seven awards, including five golds from the International Wine and Spirit Competition and The Scotch Whisky Masters.

Dr. Lumsden himself has been awarded Industry Leader of the Year three times — more than any other industry leader. In 2010, he was also awarded the prestigious “Outstanding Achievement in the Scotch Whisky Industry” by the International Wines and Spirits Competition.

So how do you drink whisky — neat or on the rocks? With a few drops of water or not? Depending on the kind of whisky, I find that instead of adding water, whisky lends itself well with a couple of large cubes of ice, which releases the different notes as they melt.

Signet, on the other hand, is best enjoyed neat.

And yet Glenmorangie Original makes for the best cocktails, too. Whisky hasn’t been an old man’s tipple for a long time. Amy makes us one of the best refreshing whisky cocktails I’ve ever had — a zesty mix of whisky, ginger ale and orange rind.

In the historic Highlands of Scotland and beyond, it is indeed the water of life.

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Glenmorangie has currently around 15 expressions on the market, including those exclusive to travel retail. Available in the Philippines are Glenmorangie Original 10 Years Old, Lasanta, Quinta Ruban, Nectar D’Or, Glenmorangie 18 Years and Glenmorangie 25 Years. Glenmorangie is available in leading supermarkets, wine shops, hotels and bars.

Follow the author on Instagram and Twitter @iamtanyalara, and check out her travel blog at www.findingmyway.net.