Glenmorangie Scotch Tasting -w- National Brand Ambassador Dan Crowell

Drammers Club is proud to present this very special Scotch tasting, which includes light food. We'll be tasting through 7 different expressions of Glenmorangie, Highland Single Malt Scotch -- some very rare, and three of them are brand new releases!

Our guest speaker is one of the most sought-after guest speakers in the industry: Glenmorangie’s National Brand Ambassador, Dan Crowell. He is one of only 5 people in the world to be certified as a Master of Scotch by the Council of Whisky Masters. Here's what we'll be tasting:

• Tale of Ice Cream - This new release in the “Tale of” series has just started to hit shelves. With this expression, Glenmorangie’s Head of Whisky Creation, Dr. Bill Lumsden, set out to invoke sweet ice cream notes in a whisky, using an array of techniques to maximize the vanilla notes that American Oak casks can bring to a whiskey (if you’re interested in the science side of it — they accomplish this primarily by heavily toasting the barrels to break down the lignin in the wood, which creates the aromatic Vanillin compound). We suspect Dr. Bill incorporated some finishing casks in the mix as well, as the final result has loads of other ice-cream-ish notes. Per the company, we should be on the lookout for: honey, lemon, butter candy, raisin bread, candied orange peel, peaches, toffee and a hint of spice. 46% abv

• Tale of Tokyo - For contrast, we’ll also dig into last year’s “Tale of” release, this time a single malt Scotch that was matured in Japanese mizunara oak casks, along with sherry and bourbon casks. If you’re not familiar with mizunara oak, it is a type of oak that conveys very different flavors than the American and European oak casks that are used in well over 99.99% of whisky creation. The wood originates in Japan, and these trees are notoriously not-straight, such that they do not easily lend themselves to making barrels. As a result, mizunara casks are fairly expensive ($6,000 or so per cask, as compared to $800ish or less for a bourbon barrel). 46% abv

• Signet - Arguably this is the signature achievement of Glenmorangie’s head of whisky creation, Dr. Bill Lumsden. To make this whisky, they heavily roast the barley, what roasters call “chocolate malt” (the heavy roast aroma always reminds me of walking into family run coffee shops as a kid). When you distill that barley into Scotch, the results are dark mocha notes that are wildly different than your usual Scotch whisky - so much so, that when they first created it, the Scotch Whisky Association questioned whether it was so different, it ought not be allowed to say “Scotch” on the label. They left the door open for Glenmorangie to make a presentation why it should be permitted, and Glenmorangie’s team presented evidence that historically some distilleries had accidentally burnt the barley, and for cost reasons ended up using the distillate anyway, which proved to be enough of a justification for the SWA to allow it. Thus Signet was born. It is some special Scotch whisky, and at approximately $300/bottle, it’s a rare treat. 46% abv

• Glenmorangie 18yo - “Extremely Rare” - This recently discontinued expression is part of Glenmorangie’s Prestige Range. This 18 year old single malt Scotch spent its first 15 years in American white oak bourbon casks. After the initial 15 years, 30% was transferred to Oloroso sherry casks, while the other 70% remained in bourbon casks, and 3 years later they were combined to create this expression - a thick, creamy and fruity single malt. And now that the expression has been discontinued, it’s even more rare.

• Cadboll Estate - 15yo (2024 ed.) - Unlike all the other expressions we'll be tasting at this event, the Cadboll release is made with barley that the Glenmorangie team grows themselves on their own estate, making it a truly grain-to-glass Glenmo whisky. This 2024 edition was harvested in 2007, and then aged in a mix of Bourbon and Amontillado Sherry Casks. 43% abv

• Original 12yo — This is another new release from Glenmorangie, and a bit of a shocking one — after decades of holding up their iconic Original 10 year as their ultimate flagship expression, they have just replaced it with a new “Original 12”. As the name implies, it’s aged an additional 2 years, making for a slightly more complex whisky. What should fans of the Original 10 expect? How does flavor profile change with the new release? And why did they change their most iconic release? We’ll get into all that with their National Brand Ambassador at this tasting.

• Triple Cask Reserve — And yet another brand new expression from Glenmorangie — this release is intended to be their entry-level release (in some ways, you can think of it as replacing their recently discontinued “X” expression). It features a mix of three cask types: bourbon, new charred oak and (unusually) rye casks. This is the only Glenmorangie expression we’ll be tasting that features ex-rye casks in the mix, so look for some of that rye spice here.

That’s our lineup, we hope you can join us!

For this event, we will order in light food, which is included (likely pizza) to try to ensure that nobody is drinking on an empty stomach — if anyone attending has any dietary restrictions (gluten free, dairy free etc.), please let us know. And, as always, we strongly discourage anyone from driving home. Please let us know if you have any questions!

Drammers is a global whisky and spirits club that hosts regular in-person events in 63 cities around the world, plus online events and group trips, and it features one of the most robust single barrel programs in the world, with over 100 single barrels currenly available to members. More information about our club is available at www.Drammers.com.

Host or Publisher Drammers Club