Glenmorangie 18 y.o. Extremely Rare
43% abv
Score: 86/100
Gotta hand it to LVMH. Their bottles are sexy. Nice contours…nice labelling…nice colors in the glass. But, hey…this is malt whisky, not handbags, luggage or jewellery. Since I’m not one of those folk who think presentation amounts to extra points when assessing or scoring whisky, let’s get on to the stuff that actually matters.
Just an introduction: Glenmorangie is a Highland distillery from the Northern reaches of Scotland that boasts some of the tallest stills in the industry. Possibly the very tallest. This, by nature, lends the spirit a lighter, more estery profile (think fragrant and sweeter on the fruity notes). The distillery is also famous (or infamous, perhaps, would be a better word?) for their bold pioneering of whisky ‘finishing’. They have taken the concept to an extreme art form. Rather successfully too, I might add.
Speaking to this, the 18 year old, in particular…
It’s a rather sad fact that there is not a lot of aged Glenmorangie out there, ergo the ‘Extremely Rare’ on the label. Hmmm…not sure if that quite aligns with my idea of extremely rare, but…for the sake of getting along…we’ll give ’em a pass, I guess.
This malt whisky spent the first 15 years of its life in bourbon casks, before being re-racked into ex-Oloroso butts, rounding out the light floral nature of the spirit itself with a bit more depth from the sherry influence.
I hate to say it, ’cause it feels kinda like a cop out, but there’s really not a lot more to talk about with this one. A rather nice whisky with not a lot of fanfare, backstory or personality.
Nose: Florals up front. White chocolate sauce. Kinda perfume-y. A touch of dust. A rather blunt dough note. Ginger. A touch of peach and mandarin orange. Vanilla cake with cream icing. Almost Lowland-ish.
Palate: Some weedy notes, and rather sharp for an 18 year old. It’s kinda fruity on the palate, but I’ll be f*cked if I can pick ’em out. Not as smooth the nose hints at. Unsweetened grapefruit. Barleys at the end. Fades into a slightly bitter grassy note with some over-steeped tea. Somewhat surprised there is Oloroso at play here.
Not bad, but rather boring. Would never peg this as an 18 year old either.
– Reviewed by: Curt
– Photo: Curt
All Things Whisky 
Superstore here in Alberta is currently selling this for a mind blowingly low $89.99. An 18 year old whisky from a designer company owned by a luxury brand in a shiny box and it costs less then $100 in Canada? Sure beats the hell out of the 18yo Macallan at $300+, and makes an excellent gift.
Hi Andrew,
I live in the UK. I am thinking of buying a bottle of 18-year-old-extremely-rare Glenmorangie, a Christmas present for my step-son who lives in Vancouver, Canada. No stores in the UK seems to export to Canada.
I have been searching the WWW how to shop in Canada to get him a bottle and I came across your July-6-2014 response. I have been trying to get a link to “Superstore in Alberta” to see if can make a purchase but without success. Would you be kind enough to sent me a link to the “Superstore” so that I can make further enquiries.
Thanks
Yoke Sun
No UK stores ship to Canada because Canada does not permit import purchases by individuals.
I ship to an address in the UK when I have someone who will be there and come here.
As for here, most stores that ship will do so within their own province only. The laws are changing but not quickly enough, so unless you know someone in Alberta, you’re out of luck.
Hi David,
Thank you for your response.
Hi Yoke,
Thanks for the interest! Unfortunately, as David explained, UK stores cannot ship to Canada. And even worse, liquor in Canada cannot be shipped between provinces by stores, only by citizens who have already bought the item and are transporting it themselves.
Worse then that is the fact that Superstore has a website that only lists their weekly discounts, and has no product information. If you still want to look, search for “Real Canadian Liquor Store”
There is also the fact that I think the Glenmorangie 18yo was only a one-time offer from a few stores, as I haven’t been able to find another bottle of it in any store here in Edmonton. Other specialty liquor stores offer it at prices of around $130 or more, and those are a very select few stores.
So if you know someone or have any family in Alberta, or someone from British Columbia is taking a vacation or business trip here before Christmas, it would be your only option to have them buy a bottle here and bring it back with them.
Thank you again, and I hope that this works out for you in the end.
Andrew
Hi Andrew,
Thank you. Email step-son with link to this site
To see if it’s been shipped to stores recently, you can search the site liquorconnect.com It tracks all the alcohol that goes to stores in Alberta.
It’s based on the price of the product. For a lower price (quicker sales) it will tell you if it has been shipped in the last 3 months. For spirits at around the $100 range you’d probably know which stores had them within the last 9-12 months, then you can call to see if they have it.
By the way, here is an example of a search for Calgary:
http://www.liquorconnect.com/Products/Pages/3210-00285734.aspx
Hi Skeptic,
Also thank you and link sent to step-son