History
Glenmorangie was founded in 1843 by William Matheison as one of the first licensed distilleries in the Highlands. Mr. Matheison created, along with his team of experts (known as “the sixteen men of Tain”) the whisky that is now the largest selling malt in Scotland. After a few changes of ownership following his death, the distillery and the brand were purchased (in 1918) by a local distributor known as McDonald & Muir, who held them until their sale to LVMH in 2004.
Production
Production of Glenmorangie begins with a very lightly peated malt with a phenol content of 0 – 1.5 ppm. The wash produced from this malt is distilled in the tallest stills in Scotland, and this results in a very fine and elegant spirit. The original purpose of these pot stills was the distillation of gin, but William Matheison saw the opportunity to use them to create a unique spirit.
In addition to these special stills, Glenmorangie is produced by using the smallest spirit cut in the industry. This means that only the finest, most elegant spirit is retained for use in Glenmorangie. A normal spirit cut is 19 – 20% of the distillate, while the spirit cut at Glenmorangie is 17%.
Maturation 
After the two distillations, the spirit is aged in cask, and here it acquires much of its character. Casks are very important at Glenmorangie, and probably no other Scotch distiller has done as much to master the art of maturation. A number of types are in use. The bourbon casks average 195 lit capacity, although they vary from 180 – 200 lit. Hogsheads are 250 lit, and puncheons are 500 lit. Sherry buts have the same capacity, but they’re longer. Port pipes also hold 500 lit, and Madeira drums can hold up to 700 lit.
The ten year old is aged in first and second fill ex-bourbon casks (usually 50/50). A portion of these casks are produced from the early growth oak from the forest that Glenmorangie owns in the Ozarks. These casks are leased to Heaven Hill and Jack Daniels. These “artisan” casks are supplemented with the purchase of used casks on the open market.
Our facilities 
The maison now comprises three distilleries (Glenmorangie, Ardbeg, and Glen Moray) and the blending and bottling facility known at Broxburn. There are approximately 360,000 casks of whisky aging at Broxburn and another 200,000 aging off site. The casks are stored at a constant temperature of 12 – 14°C year round, without rotation or topping up. Casks are organized with universal bar codes, and they are maintained by an on-site cooper.
Scotches from Ardbeg and Glen Moray are shipped in cask and emptied (tipped) at Broxburn, while those from Glenmorangie are tipped at the distillery and shipped in tanker. Upon receipt the whisky is broken down with water to 67% abv for cask aging, and the alcohol level is again adjusted at bottling. In both cases, demineralized well water is used.
Blending tanks of 25,000 liters are used, and the whisky is pumped in, homogenized, and sent to the bottling line without an extended marrying period. Just prior to bottling, the color of some whiskies is adjusted with caramel made from molasses (as is all spirit caramel). No caramel is added to Ardbeg, and little if any is added to the other whiskies bottled as single malts.
The heart of the Glenmorangie range is the ten year old, which is aged exclusively in first and second fill ex-bourbon casks. Glenmorangie was a pioneer in the use of ex-bourbon casks, and this practice has been adopted by the majority of all producers. Casks are palletized for aging and stacked on end.
It is the opinion of the tasters at Glenmorangie that their whisky is completely mature after ten years. This is the case because it is essentially of a light and delicate character. Two reasons account for this: it is produced in the tallest stills in the Highlands, and it is produced from very lightly peated malt. It is also true that the pure characters of the malt and water come through at an earlier age, while the character of the cask comes through with longer, extended aging. This is particularly true of first fill casks.
Many of the Scotches produced at Glenmorangie, such as the 10-, 15-, and 18-year olds, the Traditional, and the Artisan bottlings and others are bottled after this period of aging in ex-bourbon casks. Other Scotches are released after a period of “finishing” in another type of cask. This finishing period can last from 6 to 24 months.
It is the experience of the Master Blender that Scotch matures more quickly in Burgundy casks, and is according finished for six months. The wood for the Sherry, Port, and Madeira casks, however, has already given up most of its flavoring materials to the wine, and it is the wine that marks the spirit more than the wood. According, these are normally aged for about 24 months. Glenmorangie was the first to introduce a bottling based on this idea of finishing casks.
Casks are sourced from a variety of sources, and the total yearly outlay on casks approaches £1 million.
Stabilization
Prior to bottling, most whiskies except Ardbeg and Glenmorangie Traditional are chill filtered to avoid the development of a haze during shipment. The process used is called soft chill filtering, since the spirit is chilled to 4° C. Some distilleries prefer greater stability and chill to -4° C, but at Glenmorangie, this is felt to strip too much character from the spirit.
Chill filtering is necessary because a compound called ethyl laurate is produced during when the barley is malted. This compound will solidify at low temperatures, producing a haze. Sometimes it can agglomerate into a large floating blob, disconcerting some consumers. This ethyl laurate haze disappears at room temperature, however, and is harmless and natural.
Ethyl laurate is one of the compounds identified in giving positive mouthfeel to the spirit, and for this reason some producers do not want to remove it. Whiskies of this type are usually labeled as such in order to prevent difficulties with alarmed consumers.
Glenmorangie Key Selling Points
Glenmorangie is produced in the tallest stills in Scotland
Tall stills produce delicate, elegant spirit; full of complexity
The delicate layers of flavor are perfect for a novice Scotch lover
Glenmorangie uses the smallest spirit cut in the industry
Only the finest, most pure spirit is retained for use in Glenmorangie
Mineral rich water from the Tarlogie springs
The spring water from Tarlogie provides the finesse on the palate
World experts in cask maturation
Mastering the maturation of this wonderful spirit in the finest casks available is a prime focus of the Glenmorangie team, further enhancing this wonderful Scotch.
Glenmorangie is the #1 selling single malt whisky in Scotland and in the entire U.K.
This recognition means that Hennessy enjoyed unparalleled consumer recognition, facilitating sell-through and consumer satisfaction.
History
The first region of Scotland to produce whisky was Islay, from about 1600. This is because the technology was imported from Ireland, and Islay is the closest outpost. One reason that distillation flourished on Islay in the early years was that the local lord collected the taxes on the mainland, but the sheriff, who was less exacting, collected them on Islay. Distilleries were legalized throughout the country in 1823, with the provision that they distill a minimum of 180 liters/week in order to ensure consistency.
Ardbeg is an older distillery than Glenmorangie. It was founded by most accounts in 1794, although it operated without the benefit of a license until 1815, the date of its official incorporation (and the same date as Laphroaig and one year prior to Lagavulin). The story that it was run during these two decades by pirates has not been disproven.
The distillery was purchased by Hiram Walker in 1976, and then acquired by Allied in its merger. This was the beginning of a bad period for Glenmorangie, since Allied also owned Laphroaig, and any investment that was made was made in Islay was done there.
Ardbeg was (and is) used as a component in the Ballentine’s and Teacher’s blends, and was thus of some limited utility to Allied, who closed the distillery in 1981 and did not reopen it until 1989. It produced enough for these blends until 1996, and in 1996 it was put up for sale and purchased by Glenmorangie in 1997.
The distillery was purchased for £7.1 million, including £5.5 million in stock, and £350,000 for the brand name. The distillery was thus reasonably priced, although massive investment was needed, and Glenmorangie invested another £3 million in repairs.
Production technique
Water for the production of Ardbeg comes from the Uigeadail source. This source is totally dependant on rainfall, however, as is all of Islay. The water runs to the distillery over peat bogs that impart a distinct color and flavor to the water. Some say that it is the peatiness of the water that accounts for the viscosity of Ardbeg.
During distillation, the distillery consumes about 750,000 liters of water per week, mostly for the cooling of the equipment. This cooling water is discharged at sea, since it has remained uncontaminated during the process, and the local government has given their consent to discharge.
Ardbeg is known as the malt with the highest peat content. This is a claim that can be documented by measuring phenolic compounds in the whisky. These compounds are known as cresols, and they are the result of drying of the malted barley over peat. The level of phenols in Ardbeg is 54 – 56 ppm.
By way of comparison,
– Bowmore (another Islay malt) has phenol levels that average 20 ppm
– Glenmorangie has about 1 ppm
– Isle of Jura has no measurable phenols at all.
– Auchentoshen and Glenkinchie are very light (Lowland) whiskies since they are triple distilled.
– There is one bottling from Brucchladie (Octomore?) that exceeds the average at Ardbeg, but this is an extremely limited proportion of their production. Peat is stronger the deeper it is dug.
As with most distilleries in Scotland, Ardbeg purchases their malt, which is custom prepared for them. The last maltings at Ardbeg were done in 1980. Their malt is now prepared by drying the barley for 24 hours with peat and for 3 hours with plain air. For some distilleries, such as Bunnahabin, this ratio is reversed, giving a much smaller phenol content (around 3 ppm).
As the malt is received it is put into metal bins – it takes 4.5 tons to fill the mash tun. The malt is first screened by a powerful magnet to eliminate any bits of metal, and the malt is then crushed by powerful rollers. It is milled in a Boby mill, which was put into place in 1881, making it the oldest working mill in the world. Two-thirds of the phenol content is lost in the process between the malting and bottling, so the husks are added back to the wash
After the mashing and fermentation, the wash is distilled. The stills at Ardbeg are equipped with a purifier, which is essentially a return valve located on the way to the swan’s neck that causes the heavier distillate to be removed and returned to the boiler for re-distillation. In Stuart’s opinion, this more than anything, explains the balance and complexity of the spirit.
Maturation
The casks used today at Ardbeg are almost exclusively first and second fill ex-bourbon casks from Jack Daniels. Formerly, some Sherry butts were used, but ex-bourbon casks account for 99% of the barrels, according the distillery manager.
75% of the production of Ardbeg is sold as single malt, and the remaining 25% is used in a variety of blends. The distillery maintains 24,000 casks on site, and there are another 110,000 at Broxburn.
The heart of the Ardbeg range is the 10 year old. There was a limited amount of 17 year old bottled, but these stocks are now exhausted. The Uigeadail spring gives its name to another bottling that includes some whiskies more than ten years old, some more than twelve years old, and a small amount of very old whisky from the 1970s that was matured in sherry casks.
All of the whisky at Ardbeg is bottled at at least 46% abv, since it is not chill filtered, and this higher level of alcohol inhibits the formation of ethyl laurate haze.
Ardbeg Key Selling Points
Ardbeg has the highest peat content of any whisky
The smoky, briny nature of Ardbeg makes it the favorite of those who enjoy a very hearty malt.
Ardbeg’s still produces unique and exquisite spirit
The purifier on the spirit still gives a fruity floral sweetness and complexity to this spirit
Ardbeg is non chill-filtered to maximize texture
This method of bottling ensures that all of the natural texture and flavor is intact
Ardbeg has a unique water source in Loch Uigeadail
The water of the Loch filters naturally through peat bogs, contributing to the complexity of aroma in Ardbeg
Ardbeg is the ultimate Islay malt
Ardbeg inspires a fanatical devotion, winning die-hard fans as well as accolades from a wide variety of press.
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