MaitoMike
Reviewed
December 26, 2021 (edited February 14, 2022)
From the royal burgh of Tain located in the Scottish Highlands comes the distillery of Glenmorangie, founded in 1843. One interesting bit of trivia is that this distillery has the tallest stills in Scotland! Pretty neat, eh? I digress.
The Original 10 Year Old is a very shy single malt with subtle fruity notes on the nose that require a bit of time to emerge. At 40% ABV, I was expecting a smooth experience but there was a slight burn on my tongue which then dissipated into sweet custard followed by a lingering dark chocolate note. The finish was between short to medium featuring a sweet and savoury dessert combination of salted caramel, dark chocolate, and the biggest surprise of all: popcorn (I kid you not!).
All things considered, it's a decent entry-level single malt that's easy to sip. I would recommend it to anyone who's starting to get into the art of whisky tasting as this 10 Year Old offers the complexities one would find in an older whisky with a higher ABV, but at a fraction of the cost.
NOSE: Grapes, raisins, molasses, honey, ambrosia apples
PALATE: Tapioca, egg custard, birch, nutmeg, cinnamon, dark chocolate
FINISH: Sea salt, salted caramel, malted barley, dark chocolate, popcorn
Rating: 83/100
Grade: B
Good – not a “must”, but a nice-to-have.