Glenmorangie Duthac

Another travel retail exclusive I picked up at the Windsor-Detroit tunnel duty free shop. I supplied this as a bonus for our tour group and I’ve been working my way through the remainder of the bottle. Named after St. Duthac who was supposedly born around 1000 A.D. and the Patron Saint of Tain, Ross-shire where the Glenmorangie distillery is located. This NAS expression (which I believe to be 8-12 years old), is finished in a combination of PX sherry and charred virgin oak casks. Bottled at 43% ABV, chill filtered with colorant added. A very nice dark copper color. The nose starts with sweet fruity sherry. Apricots, figs and pears. Sweet brown sugar and toffee. Lots of roasted nuts, a mix of walnuts, Brazil nuts and perhaps pecans. Vanilla and fresh oak. More fruits come back around with plums and raisins. A combination of dark and milk chocolate, light cinnamon and buttercream. A touch earthy/vegetal, maybe showing a little peat influence. Marzipan with a faint mint and a hint of cola. The bottom of the glass reveals a light syrupy goodness. The palate is sweet initially but carries some spice with it. Apricots, peaches, vanilla and milk chocolate. Brazil nuts and almonds. Strong fresh cut oak. Raisins, sherry and sweet cherries and cherry candies. A dessert dram for sure, but with enough spice to keep it from being cloyingly sweet. Medium bodied mouthfeel, a bit thin but slightly waxy. Mouthwatering then dry. A medium long finish that is sweet, slightly spicy with oak and apricots. Glenmorangie is such a clean spirit that it takes to finishing very well. The cask influence is strong and both the PX and virgin oak are clear and easily detectable. Not quite as good as the Quinta Ruban but as good as the Lasanta in my opinion. I’m glad I bought this one because it’s worth trying, but I doubt I would buy it again, mostly because I’m only allowed a couple bottles at a time when crossing the border and there are more I need to try. Not a bad value at $80 for a full liter. A solid 4. Cheers 🥃

Here’s another travel retail exclusive malt that I probably would’ve never had the chance to try if it weren’t for my friend Paul. I’m not exactly a Glenmorangie fan to begin with, so chances are I wouldn’t buy this one even if it was available locally. So, a big thanks again to Paul. This one immediately reminds me of the La Santa core bottle: lots of sherry and chocolate notes from the start. This is from the newly minted Legends Collection- which is just as you guessed- a NAS “series” with at least two more bottles to come. This one is primarily Pedro Ximenez and virgin oak cask and comes in at 43% ABV with coloring added and chill filtration. It’s a pretty golden, amber in the glass and makes oily, long legs when you spin it. The nose is heavy raisins, breakfast syrup, cocoa powder and roasted nuts. There’s a slight, lingering bit of alcohol heat there, too. The palate is brown sugar and toffee that’s rounded out well by wood oak spice and a bite of ginger. The finish is medium-short and pretty sugary, as well. There’s some lingering cinnamon and oak that help clean up after all the sweetness. Overall, I don’t think I like it as much as I initially enjoyed the La Santa bottling. This one seems a lot sweeter and not as well-rounded with regards to mouthfeel. It’s enjoyable, no doubt, I just think this is a tweaked version of the La Santa that’s been renamed and allocated to travel retail. Which, generally speaking, is BS. But maybe that’s just me being bitter that I don’t have easy access to TRE stuff. It’s a solid 3.5-3.75 stars, though. Cheers

Olfato: oxidação interessante, leve amanteigado, nozes, dulçor do malte, frutado de frutos vermelhos, baunilha, figo e frutos cristalizados, uvas passas, ameixas passas, caramelo, toffee, leve chocolate ao leite, cítrico de maçãs vermelhas, casca de laranja cristalizada e abacaxi em calda, amadeirado, leve canela e nenhuma percepção de álcool. Aromas complexos e bem marcantes do carvalho virgem americano, remetendo a alguns nuances de bourbon. Paladar: basicamente as mesmas notas percebidas no olfato, com uma boa relação olfato-palato. Dulçor de malte bem presente, com picância e notas vínicas bem evidentes, trazendo consigo muitas frutas vermelhas, boa oleosidade, leve amanteigado, baunilha, caramelo, leve amargor e bom amadeirado. O álcool continua pouco perceptível. Finalização: média para longa, com amargor e dulçor bem balanceados, além de notas picantes de canela e noz moscada. As frutas cristalizadas são bem presentes na finalização, com ressalto ao figo e as notas vínicas. Impressões gerais: ótimo whisky com ÓTIMO custo x benefício. Geralmente ignorado nas gôndolas de free shoppings, mas com uma ótima qualidade. Possui boa complexidade graças ao seu mix entre PX e virgin oak, além dos 43% que fazem uma baita diferença. Recomendo para degustação pura, sem água ou gelo, pois este whisky é muito bom e qualquer mistura comprometeria a qualidade sensorial deste whisky.

A hectic but a merry and wonderful Christmas Eve and day with family and friends that make this time of year special. Now sitting by the fire listening to some Vince Guaraldi Trio (you know the Christmas soundtrack) during this frigid evening to relax with the TRE provided by @Generously_Paul A rich sherry nose with toffee, cocoa, tea. Very fruity with plumbs, raisins and a faint strawberry aroma deep in the back and after given some time to open. Brown sugar and toffee sweet arrival. There is spice as well: cinnamon, white pepper. The sweetness slowly moves into spicy cloves that fades towards the finish. A black peppery finish with some nuttiness with a slight orange bitterness. A nice medium length finish. I have never been a huge fan of Glenmorangie. The general profile, for me, does not excite me (maybe what I would classify as mass-market safe). However, this Duthac was enjoyable. A sweet dessert whisky that’s pleasant. One of the better Glenmorangie’s. [86/100][Tasted: 12/26/17]

On the nose, I get honey, dark spices, brown sugar, and lemon. Floral properties showed themselves after some more oxidation. For the palate, I get Fig Newtons, subtle molasses, hazelnuts, and milk chocolate. For travel retail only, and 80 bucks, this is definitely one to pick up and be patient with drinking. The finish is toffee sweet, a little short, but not too dry. I get the feeling that this is the Quinta Ruban Lite of Glenmorangie. 3.5 to me. The theme of this dram should be light and sweet as well like a power ballad. "Heaven" by Warrant should suffice. Thanks Paul for the great TRE sample!

Tbh, I don’t remember much about the Duthac apart from really enjoying it and catching the classic Glenmorangie warm honey sweetness vibes. The nose is full of vanilla, nougat and caramel. Some wood as well. A bit of chocolate and nuts. Again even more sweet to the palate. Vanilla, toffee, nougat, apricots, butterscotch and milk chocolate. Maybe even not that young though it is a NAS release. Aftertaste is sweet as well ultimately exposing its Glenmorangie core. In overall it may lose on points towards the Quinta Ruban but still it’s a good example of what travel retail whisky should be like.