About Glenmorangie Signet Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Glenmorangie Signet Single Malt Scotch Whisky is the culmination of a "lifetime" of experimentation and innovation, says Dr. Bill Lumsden, Glenmorangie's Master of Whisky Creation. While studying Biochemistry and Cell Biology as a student at Glasgow University over 30 years ago, Lumsden began experimenting with the distillation of different varieties of malted barley that were commonly used to produce beer (the barley used to produce beer is often roasted or caramelized, while the barley used to make whisky traditionally is not).
Glenmorangie Signet Single Malt Scotch Whisky is a marriage of whisky produced from two unique types of malted barley: Cadboll malted barley and malted chocolate barley (often used to create craft beers). The whisky produced from Cadboll malted barley, which is harvested on the rolling hills that surround Glenmorangie Distillery, contributes a creamy, vanilla flavor to Glenmorangie Signet. The chocolate barley, however, is "the heart of the recipe," says Lumsden. The high roasted chocolate malt "is tumble roasted in the same way coffee beans would be,"and as a result, contributes strong notes mocha, cacao beans and milk chocolate to the whisky.
Once the barley has been fermented, it is distilled twice through Glenmorangie's copper-pot stills by a team of 16 distillers known as the Sixteen Men of Tain. Glenmorangie's stills are equipped with relatively small boiler pots, which increases the exposure of the whisky to the copper, resulting in a more pure flavor. In addition, the stills are nearly seventeen feet tall — the tallest of any distillery in Scotland — and as a result, produce a lighter, more refined whisky.
Following distillation, Glenmorangie Signet is aged in a variety of different casks. While a portion of the whisky is matured in Spanish oak casks that were previously used to mature sherry, another portion is matured in new, charred oak casks. "The charred oak surface gives a very spicy, toasty style of whisky," says Lumsden. In addition, there is an "element of our oldest and rarest stocks — Glenmorangie whiskies from 35 years old through to 40 years old," he adds.
Glenmorangie Signet Single Malt Scotch Whisky earned the Double Gold Medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2009, 2010 and 2011, and earned a score of 95 points from
Wine Enthusiast. In addition, it earned the Best Single Malt Scotch (no age statement) Trophy at the International Wine and Spirits Competition in 2013.
"Glenmorangie Signet is without doubt the most unusual whisky ever produced in Scotland," says Lumsden.
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About Glenmorangie
In 1738, a brewery was built upon Morangie Farm in the Highlands region of Scotland. A century later, William Matheson acquired the farm and equipped the Morangie brewery with two stills that he purchased second-hand, and renamed the brewery-converted-distillery Glenmorangie.
Glenmorangie Single Malt Scotch Whisky is made using malted barley, which is mashed and fermented with water sourced from the Tarlogie Spring. The water produced from the spring, which spends nearly a century underground being filtered through layers of limestone before it is extracted, is unusually rich in minerals. In the 1980s, when development in the area threatened the spring's water quality, Glenmorangie purchased 600 acres of land around and including the spring in order to ensure consistent water quality and adequate supply.
After the barley has been fermented, the wash is twice distilled through Glenmorangie's copper-pot stills by a team of 16 distillers known as the Sixteen Men of Tain. Glenmorangie's stills are equipped with relatively small boiler pots, which increases the exposure of the whisky to the copper, resulting in a more pure flavor. In addition, the stills are nearly seventeen feet tall — the tallest of any distillery in Scotland — and as a result, produce a lighter, more refined whisky.
About Scotch
Scotch is the most popular whisky in the world and is considered the king of them all! There are five whisky regions in Scotland (six if you count the not officially recognized Islands), and each of them produces spirits with unique properties and distinct tasting notes. (The type of grain used determents the type of the scotch.)
Malt whisky is made of malted barley, and grain whisky uses other grains like corn or wheat. Most of the time, a whisky is blended from different distilleries hence the name blended scotch, but if a malt whisky is produced in a single distillery, we get something extraordinary called a single malt.
Check out our impressive selection of scotch whiskies, find your new favorite in the Top 10 scotch whiskies, or explore our treasury of rare & hard to find scotch whiskies.
