Memorable Pours of 2019 - Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban 14 Year

Fourteen Left, Twelve Right

Well this seems a bit like a cop-out, but dear reader, I assure you it is a sincere cop-out. Glenmorangie's Quinta Ruban earned a permanent spot on my shelf from the get-go all those years ago when I first started taking whisky seriously. Aged ten years in ex-bourbon barrels, then transferred to Portuguese ruby port pipes for an additional two years, Quinta Ruban has consistently buttered my biscuits in all the right ways: jammy-wine influence, a bit of orange oil, a touch of vanilla and a good punch of malt sweetness.

In late 2018, the folks at Glenmorangie announced they were changing Quinta Ruban - rather than spending ten years in ex-bourbon barrels, it would now be twelve before being transferred to the port pipes for the same two years as before. Miraculously, the retail price, ~$55, remained the same despite the overall age statement improving to 14 years vs the original's 12 years.

By May of 2019, I finally saw the 14-year version trickling into retail shops in my neck of the woods. A happy side-effect of the new label meant retailers began offering the outgoing 12-year version at discount pricing, typically in the $45 ballpark, a ridiculously awesome price-to-quality ratio in my opinion.

My initial pours of the 14-year were not all that impressive, in fact, I was downright disappointed. It seemed to me the 14-year was more savory and less grape-fruit forward than the 12-year. It also seemed like the 14-year had more alcohol prickle/punch than the 12-year despite both being bottled at 46% ABV. Tasting the two side by side seemed to confirm both observations, but not to a consistent degree - some nights I preferred the 12-year, others the 14-year. Then I discovered a bit of a trick to make the 14-year more enjoyable to my palate: a bit more water splashed in and a bit more time in the glass before sipping. Numerous side-by-side samplings consistently showed that with a bit more water and time than I would expend on the 12-year made the 14-year deliver a deeper, more complex, more vibrant flavor than the 12-year. Essentially, the 14-year is the Nigel Tufnel version of the 12-year.

This is not to say the 12-year is a slouch, quite the contrary in fact - it is still a fantastic malt. As an added bonus, because Quinta Ruban is so heavily distributed across the United States, there is a very good chance you will be able to score a bottle of the 12-year for less than $50. Of course, if you desire the upgraded 14-year, I can safely vouch that if you enjoyed the 12-year, or any port-finished whiskey for that matter, it is worthy of the $55(ish) asking price.

Happy New Year! Let's get this new decade underway.