Glenmorangie distillery

Glenmorangie – "the Glen of Tranquility" – is a distiller of single malt Scotch whisky, located on the south coast of the Dornoch Firth, 4 miles north-east of the town of Tain, Ross-shire, Scotland. It is the best-selling single malt in the domestic market. The correct pronunciation of the name places the emphasis on the 'MOrangie' (as in the pronunciation of 'Orange'), not the 'moRAN-gie', as commonly mis-pronounced.

Glenmorangie is distilled in the tallest pot stills in Scotland, at over 5.1 m (16 feet 10 inches) in height. The distillery claims this produces the purest spirit possible, though competitors claim it increases production at the expense of quality. The whisky comes in 10, 12, and 18-year varieties, and is aged in American ex-bourbon casks. Glenmorangie also release a range of malts that, after ageing in bourbon casks, are transferred to casks that have been used previously to mature a sort of wine. This process is known as finishing, and Glenmorangie offers whisky finished in sherry, port wine, madeira, and burgundy casks. Another Glenmorangie innovation is their bottling of whisky that has matured in casks in the distillery's cellar, number 13, that lies closest to the sea. It is thought that this different environment gives the whisky a character distinct from the standard Glenmorangie.

For most of its existence, Glenmorangie refused to sell whisky for use in blends, fearing that casks would find their way to independent bottlers. Recently, the distillery has sold casks to blenders with a very small amount of Glen Moray Single Malt added, so that the whisky is technically a vatted malt, and can not legally be bottled and sold as a single. Note that Glen Moray distillery is owned by the same parent company, Glenmorangie plc.

Glenmorangie Plc.

Glenmorangie used to be controlled by the Macdonald family, who helped to found it in 1893. It is now no longer an independent distiller. In 2004, the family sold it to Moet Hennessy, which is jointly owned by the French LVMH and the British Diageo (BBC article). This conglomerate controls a huge number of international drinks and luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Guinness, Baileys Irish Cream, Château d'Yquem, Dom Pérignon, Cloudy Bay and Johnnie Walker, as well as around a dozen single malts. The deal was worth £300 million. Now, the only significant family-owned distiller that remains independent is William Grant & Sons.

The company also produces another successful single malt, Ardbeg, on the Island of Islay, which was revitalised by the company in 1997. Other brands are the Speyside single malt Glen Moray. They also handle Baillie Nicol Jarvie, Martin's Deluxe and Highland Queen blends. The bottling plant and Headquarters are currently in Broxburn, west of Edinburgh.

External link

• Glenmorangie official website: http://www.glenmorangie.com