Glenmorangie A Tale Of Winter

Glenmorangie holds a special place in my heart - it was my Dad's favourite tipple!

As it starting to get cold now - let's have a look at their A Tale Of Winter...

Bottler info:

As the days grow shorter, what could be more evocative than a great single malt to sip on a winter’s night? This limited-edition bottle captures the snug and magical feeling of sitting in front of the fireplace as snow blankets the world outside. Presented in a wintry-themed bottle and box with an embossed knit effect, this sweetly spicy whisky is ideal for gifting during the festive season. Each box comes with a personalisable name tag, which you fill out for the recipient to add that special personal touch.

The bottle conveying Winter, through knitting and wintery touches. Embossed knit effect to bring the texture to life. Box dressed in Winter Wardrobe – leveraging bold and disruptive visual cues of the packaging to transmit an instantaneous winter feeling to consumers.

The experience begins with light flurries of fruit and honey, building to torrents of cocoa dust, flakes of red pepper and chunks of brazil nut toffee. It culminates in a feels-like-forever finish that swirls with cinnamon, ginger and clove. Like the cosy comfort of a colourful winter jumper, this whisky’s bursts of bright, vivid flavour will delight your senses.

Distilled 2008, bottled 2021, 13yo, Marsala Wine Cask Finish, 46% ABV 

My thoughts:

Appearance: dark gold (coloured) in the glass, swirls cling as a thick line which beads up and fall as slow thick legs. 

Nose: forest fruit to start: blackberries, blackcurrants, raspberries and then something darker: black cherries, dates, figs, dried fruit. Toffee apple sweetness, a little white chocolate, digestive biscuits, some orange peel and a hint of Christmas spices.

 

Palate: Thick chewy arrival, loads of berry fruit from the nose, gentle Christmas spices: nutmeg, cinnamon & cloves; followed by a dry icing sugar sweetness on the tongue. A few more sips offer orange peel, vanilla, dried fruit and marzipan nuttiness. There's lots of sweetness here balanced by a lot of spice, a hint of smoke or cask char and a lot of Marsala influence. Nice!

 

Finish: Dry and spicy with toffee apple and berries.

Overall : The 2nd in the "Tale of" series from Dr Bill Lumsden at Glenmorangie - lots of exciting experiments coming out of the distillery. This one does recall memories of Christmas Card scene winters but doesn't bear much resemblance to cold wet miserable winters in Cumbria! But close you eyes, feel the heat of the fire and enjoy a rather nice dram!

Huge thanks to Mark @WhiskyResource for the sample swap!

Geeky stuff:

Glenmorangie Tales:

A Tale of...	Year	Info
Cake	2020	Hungarian Tokaji Dessert Wine casks
Winter	2021	Marsala Wine Cask finish
The Forest	2022	Crafted from barley kilned with woodland botanicals
Tokyo	2023	Marriage of Mizunara, Bourbon and Sherry casks