A fancy name and a story behind it, where have we seen that before? This Glenmorangie was first released in 2015 and is a mixture of bourbon and oloroso sherry matured whisky. The name refers to the tradition in which the Glenmorangie master distiller would give the sixteen men of Tain a special whisky over the festive season. Now, it’s not a bad one, as far as stories go – Glengoyne are doing something similar with their ongoing Teapot Dram realeases – but let’s see what the whisky is like.
Nose: Light and pleasant, on orange peel, toffee, caramel and cinnamon. You can sense the influence of some sherry casks, but there is youthfulness there too.
Palate: Decent body. Nutty and spicy, but unfortunately a bit of cardboard too. Cinnamon again, cloves, spiced orange liqueur.
Finish: Good length, some chocolate, but a cardboardy bitterness also lingers.
Comments: A nice ‘smooth’ (for want of a better word) whisky that doesn’t really offer anything over the standard 10 year-old. The nose is very pleasant, but it loses points in both the palate and finish. A bit generic, and the sherry influence isn’t entirely integrated.
Score: 78/100
The Daily Dram 