My highland search for Nessie and the perfect single malt

My Glaswegian friend George Simpson said that I’d enjoy Edinburgh and Glasgow. I told him I had been to both and was actually going to Inverness. He then said, “You’d probably even enjoy that more with all the whisky!” His wife Shalini, a fellow Loch Ness monster groupie like me, exclaimed her fascination with going there just to try to look for Nessie, something that she knew didn’t exist but would like to believe it real just to re-live that bit of her magical and imaginative childhood. I added I was staying in Glenmorangie House to have a tour of its distillery. They both said I was lucky to have such an opportunity.  I was excited but had no idea how lucky I really would be to have such an experience.

On the almost two-hour ride to Inverness from Gatwick, I told my traveling companion, former Manila resident Steve Dolan (a dear friend of mine who worked for the UK Embassy in Manila), that this girl on our plane looked Filipina and I noticed she was carrying a Moet & Chandon bag. I told him she probably worked with them. True enough, Cristina “Criket” Querubin was Filipina and had just moved to the UK for a new job from New York. She was Moet-Hennessy UK’s Traditional Flagship Prestige account manager who was accompanying the 2010 Galvin Cup Cocktail competition winner Bruno do Nascimento of The Dorchester Hotel in Mayfair and his friend and fellow bartender Bart Maleszyk of Landmark Hotel London. Add Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post contributor Robin Lynam and our group of six were set to head to Glenmorangie House.

After an almost two-hour ride from the Inverness airport, we arrived at our Highland home in Cadboll, Glenmorangie House. The very amiable Glenmorangie Sensory Whisky creator Annabel Meikle welcomed us and showed us to our rooms before a fine lunch at the informal dining room. Over lunch, the group got to know each other and Annabel explained what Glenmorangie is all about.

Glenmorangie is, quite simply, the most delicious and complex single malt whisky in the world. Its multi-layered aromas and kaleidoscopic flavors stimulate the senses and entice the palate. Many Scots grew up drinking this largest selling single malt in Scotland. This spirit originates in the heart of the Scottish.

It is in the highlands where, at the Glenmorangie distillery, the whisky is first captured by elegant, swan-necked stills that are the tallest in Scotland, and then expertly matured in the finest oak casks. At its core is a small group of men with immense skill and enviable knowledge. These craftsmen are the backbone of the distillery, the legendary “Sixteen Men of Tain,” unofficial guardians of Glenmorangie’s malt, who still, to this day, use the time-honored, traditional skills that have been passed from generation to generation. Together, they ensure Glenmorangie is made in the same way it always has been since 1843. Glenmorangie is the first whisky Maison within Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) group.

Glenmorangie uses primarily white American oak casks that have previously contained bourbon.The majority of their casks are first filled (that is, they have never before matured Scotch whisky), and an important proportion are made from air-dried, slow growth wood. For their extra matured products, they hand select port, sherry or wine casks from Europe. These casks, chosen for their provenance and quality, complement the complex characteristics of Glenmorangie extra matured products.

After lunch, we headed to Tarlogie Springs in the hills above the Glenmorangie Distillery.  It is a small natural spring bubbling with cool, crystal-clear pure water that’s slowly filtered through the landscape’s alternating layers of porous limestone and sandstone, gradually collecting the natural minerals that give it its “hard” water quality. Glenmorangie is the only highland distillery to use hard water in its production. So important are the Tarlogie Springs to Glenmorangie that in 1989, they thought to safeguard its purity and purchased 650 acres of surrounding woodland to protect its future, and ensure that Glenmorangie would always retain its unique, distinctive character.

We toured the Glenmorangie Distillery next and checked out the mashing and heating machines, tasted different types of barley and then proceeded to the core of the distillery, the Stillhouse; the living, beating heart of the distillery where simple raw ingredients are transformed into a spirit of rare finesse and subtlety. Measuring 16 feet and 10 1/4 inches, the 12 stills are the tallest in Scotland. Unlike smaller, traditional onion stills, the long, elegant swan necks of the Glenmorangie stills ensure only the lightest and purest vapors ascend to the top and condense into spirit with all harsh flavors removed from the distillate before maturation. We also toured the warehouse and tried the core products of Glenmorangie as Annabel further explained the complexity of the products we tasted and what gave their extra mature products their unique taste. Although originally a brewery, the Glenmorangie distillery has been operating as a whisky distillery since 1843 and uses only water from Tarlogie Springs and Scottish grown barley. They are headquartered in Edinburgh and the company produces two main single malt brands — Glenmorangie Single Highland malt whisky and Ardbeg Single Islay malt.

A short drive from the Glenmorangie Distillery stands an intricately carved eighth century Cadboll Stone. The bottom panel of the stone perfectly represents the kaleidoscopic nature of the Glenmorangie spirit and adopts the emblem for the Glenmorangie Signet launched in 2008. The Glenmorangie Company is awarded by the Whisky Magazine the coveted title of Innovator of the Year. The original Cadboll Stone is housed in the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, but an exact replica can be visited in its original place on the shores of the Cromarty Firth, adjacent to Glenmorangie House at Cadboll.

Glenmorangie products that are available in Manila: the Original 10 Year Old, which is quite simply the most delicate and deliciously complex single malt whisky in the world; Glenmorangie Lasanta, a full-bodied single malt whisky that has been extra matured in Spanish Oloroso Sherry casks after a minimum of 10 years in ex-bourbon casks; Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban is a mature Glenmorangie that is transferred from the original ex-bourbon cask and then extra matured or “finished” in port pipes, shipped from the “Quintas” or wine estates of Portugal; the Nectar D’Òr is Glenmorangie’s complex base spirit that, after a minimum of 10 years in ex-bourbon casks, is extra matured in specially hand selected Sauternes wine barriques; Glenmorangie 18 Year Old is a specially aged, rare, malt scotch whisky slowly matured for 15 years in the finest ex-bourbon oak casks, a proportion is transferred to Spanish Oloroso sherry casks for the final three years of maturation; and lastly, the Glenmorangie Quarter Century,  an extremely rare and delectable single malt of notable age and intense, full-bodied flavor. Let’s wait for the time when Glenmorangie ASTAR, Glenmorangie Signet and Glenmorangie Sonnalta PX shall be available in Manila.

We then had time to experience the grounds of the Glenmorangie House with its giant chess set, gardens that have several fruit-bearing tress like apples, pears, plums and figs, and time to explore the quite chilly beach. Before dinner, we had a “sonic tasting” of Glenmorangie Signet.  We had earphones that had a man and a woman describing what the Signet was, how to drink it, when to drink it and describing how it should taste. The description came all complete with music and sound effects of waves, pouring coffee, rain. The closest thing I could describe the experience was audible “alco-porn.” Canapes and cocktails were served before dinner, complete with the traditional serving of haggis with Duncan, the piper, playing his bagpipes and cutting the haggis after reciting “Address to a Haggis” by Robert Burns in an almost undecipherable accent (for me) that he had to explain it later in English. Considering what haggis was made of (sheep’s lungs, heart and liver mixed with oatmeal, spices and suet), I had bravely tasted a portion and had to give up.  It did taste good though but I personally could not stomach what it was made of.

After dinner, Bruno  made his award-winning cocktail he called “Improvise” since he was given five minutes to come up with a winning cocktail, which was made of Glenmorangie Signet, elderflower cordial and fresh vanilla pod. I believe the fourth ingredient was lime or lemon juice. It was a perfect cocktail to end the evening.

We had said our goodbyes the following morning after a wonderful traditional Scottish breakfast to head to Inverness and explore the town, Urquhart Castle and the very huge and picturesque Loch Ness. No sighting of Nessie in the Loch though. One night in the town of Inverness was perfect for a fresh seafood dinner and time to reminisce my wonderful time on the Scottish Highlands. Thus ended my wonderful trip to Scotland, finding my perfect single malt and, well, a statue of Nessie on land.

(Check out www.glenmorangie.com and www.theglenmorangiehouse.com)