Glenmorangie Lasanta Sherry Cask Finish 12 Year

Sherried scotch is hit or miss for me. I’ve had some great ones: generally I’ve had luck with Islay finished in Amoroso or PX casks like the Talisker Distiller’s Edition and the 2021 Cairdeas from Laphroaig. But I missed the boat on Macallan. From what I hear they used to be a dynamite distillery who are living on the fumes of that reputation combined with product placement in British spy films. I’ve had the Macallan 12 Double Oak and Macallan 12 and both were kind of middling. Then, the 2nd worst whisky I’ve ever had was a sherry-finished Tamnavulin double cask. The worst whisky I’ve ever had and haven’t touched in years is Jim Beam White, and I understand that’s bottom shelf for people who want to get trashed so even though it’s the worst, it doesn’t make any claims to be anything other than what it is while the Tamnavulin has apparently won awards at whisky competitions. It was only $35 so it wasn’t the end of the world. I looked up scotch cocktails and used it in them until the bottle was dry. But my point here is that I approach sherried scotches with caution. Now, on the other hand, I am a fan of Glenmorangie. I like everything I’ve had from them from the standard 10 Year to the Quinta Ruban (now defunct) 12 and (current) 14 year old version to the Cadboll 15, and while they don’t rock my world the same way an Islay does, I’d never turn one down and I certainly sometimes pick them up if I’m in the mood. And of all of them, I actually think that the La Santa might be my favorite (I hear the 18 is top notch too, but that’s a bit beyond my price range). The sherry aroma on the nose here is quite nice. Whereas with that Tamnavulin there was something artificial and off about the aroma, here it’s got a nice cherry maraschino aroma cut slightly with an undercurrent of balsamic vinegar and there’s a bit of an oiliness to it that’s almost like a hoagie dressing that may sound odd but that I don’t find offensive and am not averse to. There are also dried fruits here, most prominently dates that add a pleasant note. What I like here, as opposed to my memory of the Macallan sherried scotches, is that the Macallan comes off as too dry, a little too pungent and that carries over to the palate where, especially with the double oak, the wood flavors offset the sweetness too much. There is some oak on the palate mixed in with the sweetness, but the oak here gives it a nutty spicy quality like you’ve just popped a handful of train mix into your mouth. You get the dried fruits, perhaps raisins, with a bit of milk chocolate and nuttiness, and it blends together quite nicely (and for $30 less than a bottle of Macallan that sports the same age statement, so I’m not sure why anyone would choose that over this unless you’re aspiring to be seen as 007). The cherry comes back nicely, mixing with the spices at the finish for an overall nice and satisfying drink. It's funny because looking back now, I see that I gave the Glenmorangie 14 Quinta a 4.25, which might be a little high because I like the LaSanta better and only feel compelled to give it a 4.00. I also gave the Caboll a 4.25 and I like this better than that, though honestly, they’re all really in the same league, and not tasting them side-by-side, it’s more a comparison between what’s right in front of me and a memory. Whether you’re getting the 12, the 14, or the 15, the underlying scotch product is a good one and the only difference between the 12 and 14 is the finish, whereas I think the 15 the difference is the grain. You can’t go wrong with a Glenmorangie in my opinion and I’m sticking to it. I never reviewed the 10 here, which seems like a gross oversight. I have had it in recent years since signing up for this site, so I wonder why I neglected it and to me that’s a 3.75 and a great budget buy, so yeah, if you haven’t explore Glenmorangie, I’d highly recommend it. They’re sort of that sleeper product. You never think of them first, but you’re never disappointed when you do have it in the glass. Of course, it looks like this one has gone up in price from the last time I bought it: $54.99 to $64.99, so this might also be the last time I’ll have it. It’s a shame when distiller’s do this. I understand price increases might be necessary with inflation, but when the hike is $10 or more it just comes off as greed.