Glenmorangie is proud to announce that Glenmorangie Ealanta is named best whisky in the world by Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible 2014, scoring a 97.5 out of 100 to beat 4,499 other whiskies to reach the top spot. Murray described the virgin-oak-matured single malt scotch whisky as “borderline perfection with one of the longest finishes of any Scotch this year”.
He further adds that the Ealanta won not only because it was created differently, but because it has great deftness, beauty and elegance, as well as an aroma and taste profile that was completely new to him in over 30 years of tasting whisky. Glenmorangie, purveyors of “Unnecessarily Well Made” single malt Scotch whisky, is world renowned for its research into the effect of wood on whisky maturation.
The company’s Distilling and Whisky Creation Director, Dr. Bill Lumsden, is an acknowledged and much awarded pioneer in this field, and is also well known for travelling the world to search out the best oak casks in which to mature his whisky.
Dr Lumsden commented, “It’s no secret in our industry that it’s the ‘wood that makes the whisky’ and for many years my team and I have been carrying out detailed research in this area. The casks selected way back in 1993 from oaks of the Mark Twain National Forest were absolutely top quality and unusually had not previously held any liquor such as bourbon, so it’s the interaction of our delicate floral spirit from our very tall stills directly with this ‘virgin’ wood that makes for many intriguing flavours”.
On nosing, Glenmorangie Ealanta has a soft toffee and butterscotch aroma, then vanilla and a curious strong hint of stewed fruits with a hallmark Glenmorangie top note of menthol.
On the palate, candied orange peel, sugar coated almonds and sweet vanilla are to the fore, wrapped in an unusual nuttiness reminiscent of Brazil nuts in toffee. The finish is very long with virgin oak derived spices such as clove, ginger and a hint of aniseed.
Bottled at a strength of 46%, and non chill-filtered for extra texture and mouth feel, Glenmorangie Ealanta is the 2013 addition to the ongoing Private Edition range, comprising so far the highly sought after Sonnalta PX , Finealta and Artein.