Month 8 - Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban

Glenmorangie - The Quinta Ruban
Classification: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Country: Scotland, United Kingdom
Region: Highlands (Tain, Ross-shire: 57.826N, -4.078W)
Mash Bill: 100% Malted Barley
Strength: 46.0% ABV (92.0° Proof)
Color: Natural Color
Filtration: Non-Chill Filtered
Maturation: 12 years (10 years American bourbon barrels, 2 years Portuguese ruby port pipes)
Price: $57.99 (Total Wine)

Overview

Ahh, back to our beloved Scotland for Month 8. I am sure the brand name is familiar, but just in case, as in Month 4, let's start with how I was told to pronounce the distillery's name. Glenmorangie is comprised of three syllables and breaks down as the three words Glenn-Mourn-Gee. Put the emphasis on the middle syllable and off you go. I have also heard the pronunciation Glenn-More-Angie throughout the years, but once had a Scotsman adamantly insist that was a common, but totally incorrect pronunciation. I'm sticking with the mourn-gee on this one.

Glenmorangie has been making alcohol of one form or another for a long time. Things all got started on the Morangie Farm in 1703. A formal brewery was built on the farm in the 1730s and by 1843, a distillery was built and whisky production began. Incredibly, the Morangie Farm and Glenmorangie brand remained family owned through 2004, but both were ultimately sold to Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (which in turn is partially owned by drinks giant Diageo).

Month 8's whisky - Glenmorangie's Quinta Ruban - is one of four 'core' expressions produced by Glenmorangie. Each of the four expressions differ in maturation, but all start life as Glenmorangie's 'The Original' which is the result of their distillate spending ten years in American ex-bourbon barrels. From here, some of the ten-year malt is sent for bottling (The Original) while the remaining is sent to one of three different wine barrels for an additional two years - Sherry casks from Spain (The Lasanta), Sauternes casks from France (Nectar d'Or), or Port casks from Portugal (Quinta Ruban).

The first thing that jumps out when looking at a bottle of Quinta Ruban is its majestic reddish-copper color. Some single malts that feature such a glorious color are artificially colored, but thankfully, this is not the case with the Quinta Ruban. The color you see is overwhelmingly due to the two years the whisky spent in its port barrel home. Speaking of port barrels, they are commonly called port pipes due to their elongated shape and are quite large, typically three times the size of an American bourbon barrel, holding over 160 gallons of liquid. Gaze upon their titanic awesomeness!

Put that in your pipe and smoke it

Speaking of barrels, it is a lesser known fact that Glenmorangie owns their own forest in Missouri's Ozark Mountains. Here they fell their own American white oak, cure the timber for two years, then send the oak to either Heaven Hill Distilleries (producer of Month 2 and Month 7's whiskeys!) or Jack Daniel's to age their respective whiskeys before dumping and sending the empty barrels to Glenmorangie to begin aging their malts. In a rather rare proclamation, Glenmorangie state in writing that they only use their barrels twice. Very few Scottish distilleries state precisely how many times they refill their casks in their lifetime, with many speculating that barrels are reused five, six, or even more times.

Glenmorangie proudly boasts operating the tallest stills in the whole of Scotland. Standing 26 feet, the distillery claims the tall stills ensure 'that only the very lightest and purest vapours make it to the top, giving a smoother, more elegant whisky.' While the marketing speak is high, there is some scientific merit to the claim, but please realize there are far more variables in producing a quality distillate than just still height. As for what those variables are, I apologize, but I will leave that as an exercise to the reader. (p.s. - email me when you complete that exercise, I would love to learn myself)

Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton deserve a lot of credit for the entire Glenmorangie line. Not only are the core expressions readily available, but they are relative bargains in comparison to their single malt shelf mates. Further, the three extra-matured expressions are far from marketing gimmicks. The Sherry, Sauternes, and Port barrels each altar the base Glenmorangie in unique and delicious ways creating wildly different experiences. Finally, and crucially, Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton deserve a standing ovation for offering two of the three (sorry Lasanta) wine-barrel finished malts as age-stated, non-chill filtered, and at an above-average 46% ABV. These facets of quality ensure a better overall experience for the consumer. Had Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton decided to cut those corners to eek out a bit more profit, the haunting subtlety of malt mingled with ancient wines would be, to a large degree, lost. And that dear malt mates and bourbon buddies would be a travesty. Well done Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.

Tasting Notes

Group Impressions

Such a fun month. While the color of the whisky gave all pause, virtually everyone zeroed in that this whisky most likely hailed from Scotland due to its malty aroma and taste. Month Eight provides perfect justification that a book should never be judged by its cover - it had the appearance of an American whiskey, but it certainly did not smell or taste like one. I chuckled when I read in one impression the mention of a 'tawny' color. Oh how appropriate that observation was given our whisky's port influence. Another near-universal observation was the sense that this whisky was higher proof but did not taste or smell of a high proof malt. For me, this is the ultimate testament to the quality of maturation Glenmorangie affords their malts.

Further, more than one impression put forth the guess that not only was Month 8 a Scotch, but a Scotch hailing from the Speyside region. Close, very close, but alas, Glenmorangie is a Highland malt, albeit geographically very close to Speyside.

Interestingly, a few mentioned the possibility of this whisky working well in cocktails. Scotch traditionally has never been a popular mixing whisky, but perhaps a wine-finished whisky like Quinta Ruban could rebuke this trend. Challenge Accepted.

Thanks to all for another great month. With Month Eight firmly in the rear-view, we screech toward the horizon; first stop - Month Nine. Cheers to you all.

Waldo Norris
The color of this glass is not something I ever had to describe before. A "Tawny" color (yes, i had to look that up), which gave hues of red mixed with amber.

The legs took a long time to develop and slowly moved down the glass.

When i smelled the glass, I smelled fresh apples, pears, and vanilla. This certainly smelled sweet, but did have just enough of the burn to let you know there was a moderate amount of alcohol.

The first taste was very fresh tasting at the beginning. It was subtle on the tongue, and in the mouth.  Again, I noted fresh apples, perhaps a bit the pear and a hint of vanilla. A medium finish, as it reached the back of the mouth and down the throat. It didn't stick around for long after, but left a nice impression, and something I would definitely order our pour for myself or friends.

This was a really nice pre-meal Single Malt Whiskey. I would think this is fairly young. Any chance we have a SPEY?

Thanks again as always!  I am having a ton of fun with this!

Apollo
This one looked like it was going to be pretty interesting. It had a nice dark, sort of golden brown color. It stuck to the inside of the glass for quite a while before finally dripping down in fairly small legs.

When I smelled it, however, I couldn't pick out much besides a general sweetness and possibly a hint of butterscotch.

The taste was similar to the smell in the sense that nothing really jumped out at me. I even tried it with a splash of water and also with an ice cube, but it just tasted kind of plain to me. It did taste a bit sweet so I'm going to guess that it's a bourbon.

For my tastes, this one wasn't very interesting. It didn't separate itself from the pack at all, in my opinion. There was nothing wrong with it, it just seemed pretty standard in every way. While I didn't mind it, I wouldn't go out of my way to sample it again.

Keoki
Our August offering was right up my alley.
When I got the sample from Johnathan, it was a contrast in styles. It looked a dark, rich amber color. From sight alone, I figured we had something strong and intense.

However, on smell, I noticed a very mild fragrance. It reminded me of a Speyside malt.

Taste was exquisite. It had the sweetness and spice. Sometimes with the delicate Scotches you get a lot of sweetness and a barley taste. This one, however, lended a nice spicey note that is not common in my experience.
I really enjoyed this offering.  I have since moved towards more peaty offerings, but this is a great intermediate-level scotch that you could build on a traditional Speyside. 10/10 would recommend.

Admiral Hawkes
This month's selection appeared to be a pleasant scotch whisky by look and nose.

Upon opening the lightish amber dram, the first whiff was the malty, ever so smokey aroma of Scotch.  This one didn't have fire in the nostrils, leading me to guess 80-86 proof.  The were hints of orchard fruit on the nose as well. I imbibed this sample in two sittings.

The first, as always, was neat. The low amount of heat translated to the taste, and this one was pretty smooth. The apple orchard aroma didn't really translate to taste notes, but there was some earthiness and nutty notes for me. I wondered as I sipped whether this was a blend.

A week later, I poured the remaining sample over a large ice ball. I must say it was a good pour and it went down faster than I would have thought. Chilled and only slightly watered down by a slow melt (and a fast quaff!), the drink was even smoother. I got a little bit more of fruit-type notes on this pour, but could not put my finger on the exact flavor.

This was an enjoyable selection, maybe more of an everyday drinker than a special treat. I've never made a mixed drink with scotch, but perhaps this would be a candidate for a first try. Any suggestions, gang?

Zeus
Appearance: Nice amber color. Above average legs. Persistent legs. 'Why won't you go away' legs. I like saying legs. LEGS!!!

Smell:
Powerful medicinal smell initially. After several sniffs I started to pull out a nice mellow woody smell. Perhaps brown sugar. Dare I say maple syrup?  I did say it.

Taste:
Light taste on initial contact. The first second ... it almost seemed like it was watered down. It's followed up by a moderate burn that was a huge contrast in comparison.

Adding an ice cube eliminated the burn completely. It washed out the taste a bit too much for my liking.

Finish:
Far more potent after taste. I sensed a caramel like taste after several sips. I'm left with a woody taste that makes me think of a Scotch, but no Scotch would have such a lack luster initial taste. I think. Damn it, this guy has got me confused.

The finish after adding an ice cube was also a bit washed out.

General Thoughts:
This is a really nice whiskey I can see myself casually drinking. Perhaps it would be good in a mixed drink paired with a more potent whiskey cousin.

While it did not taste like a high proof whiskey I did feel it affecting me faster than most 80 proof types. The legs kind of say it's a high proof to me, but I still am not sure.

I'm really not confidently locking to the type of whiskey.  I'll go with a lackluster vote to a mild rye whiskey.

LEGS!!!

Jonathan Quayle Higgins
Appearance
Reddish-copper. Nice long, slow legs in the glass. Wow, the more I gaze at the whisky in the glass the more I appreciate the magnificent contribution of the port barrels.

Nose
Ahhh, the delicious malt sweetness right off the bat. No alcohol punch, warm, gentle, inviting. After five or so minutes in the glass a jammy wine begins to present itself. Some orange on deeper sniffs. Does it smell like a port? To a degree yes, but not as sweet or cloying as the ports I have enjoyed in the past. Wow, a deliciously subtle and nuanced nose. I have been on a bourbon run the past couple of weeks, perhaps my nose has been beat into submission by the bold, fire-rich whiskeys from Kentucky and really appreciates the subtle elegance here.

Taste
Malt up front. A bit more alcohol burn and a bit less fruit than the nose had me anticipating. A gentle open that builds to a medium level of spice. A bit of barrel char upon swallowing. Black pepper. Upon the third or fourth sip, the jammy sweetness appears mid-taste; I wonder if this is my tongue getting past the alcohol wallop in the first few sips.

Finish
Oh nice warming finish. Dare I say a bit of Kentuc...err Scottish hug. There are aspects of this finish that remind me of the ports I have enjoyed during dessert courses of various meals through the years. I would say the finish produces the strongest ‘this is a port’ sensation for me in the entire experience.

Overall
Well I have nothing negative to say about this single malt. I enjoyed the sip from the first to the last. For me, I feel the port finish differentiates this malt to such a degree that it is absolutely worth keeping a bottle on your shelf. In a sea of sherry cask finished single malts, the port finish of Quinta Ruban really makes this dram stand out to me.

Carol Baldwin
Appearance:
Golden Amber. Easily developed numerous legs after swirling the glass.

Smell:
Sharp. Somewhat grassy. Wood as I sniffed deeper into the glass.

Taste:
Sharp, woody, and warming with a strong alcohol burn.

Finish:
Clean, some wood, and a bit astringent.

General Thoughts:
Neat this whiskey had a strong sharp taste with woody flavors and a fairly strong afterburn. I suspect this whiskey is a higher proof. Not sure of the origins but I would bet my life this is not a bourbon. Adding a bit of water did help to bring the flavors out and somewhat tame the alcohol burn. Really a nicely balanced whiskey. I enjoyed sipping this and I'm looking forward to finding out what this month's pick was.