Scotch Review #66: Glenmorangie Allta

Distillery: Glenmorangie

Region: Highland

ABV: 51.2%

Age: NAS

Price: $15 for 2 oz during Happy Hour, one for /u/RoseFromEmbers and one for myself.

Color: 1.0, Deep Copper. Non-chill-filtered, unsure about the color.

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Nose: Buttery short bread with a side of the citrus you expect out of a Glenmorangie. Not bad.

Palate: Starts off right where the nose left off. You get some buttery short bread, some butter candies, and some orange zest. Mouthfeel is a bit on the thick side which helps with the butteriness of it all. The tail end of this is where this starts to get really interesting. There’s a huge portion of wild mushroom along with an earthy funk to it that’s unlike anything I’ve had in a whisky before. It reminds me a lot of Kweichow Moutai Baijiu or the water that’s left after you’ve rehydrated some dried shiitake mushrooms. Incredibly earthy, incredibly funky.

Finish: Medium. More of that wild mushroom, earthy, funkiness.

Conclusion: What a fun dram. I never thought I’d say those words after having a Glenmorangie. Glenmorangie to me is the definition of decent but boring. But this one? It’s completely different than any I’ve had from this distillery. The start of this is a lovely buttery and citrusy nose and palate. Up to here, it’s pretty good on its own but slightly boring. Then the second half of this is just so out there. The wild mushroom note comes through so strongly along with the earthy funk (which I’m assuming is from the wild yeast Glenmo put into this). Not bad, not bad at all. Would I buy a bottle? As interesting as it is, it’s one I don’t think I’d want to keep in the collection simply because I don’t think I’d drink much of it. This is the kind of dram I’m really glad I’ve had but not one I’d be reaching for the bottle anytime soon.

Final Score: 83.

Scotch whisky review #66, Highland review #16, Whisky Network Review #89

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Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky.
• 85-89: Amazing, will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection (if feasible).
• 80-84: Very Good, maybe only one minor nitpick about the whisky keeping it here.
• 75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink.
• 70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.