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Glenmorangie 25 Year Old Quarter Century

Average score from 5 reviews and 9 ratings 91

Glenmorangie 25 Year Old Quarter Century

Product details

  • Brand: Glenmorangie
  • Bottler: Distillery Bottling
  • ABV: 43.0%
  • Age: 25 year old

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@vanPelt
Glenmorangie 25 Year Old Quarter Century

Nose: Orange/peach/almond are most prominent. Supplemented by: their blossoms, moist coffee grounds, light cherry/plum, and a tad ginger/lemon zest. The aromas are evident but fairly light.

Palate: No sting at all, at any point. A smooth entrance of creamy orange-pear marmelade containing not-too-hot ginger. It gets oilier in the mouth (something I do not recall experiencing before at only 43%), with little alteration of the entrance flavors-- they just sustain and fade slowly.

Finish: Soft, with lingering creaminess and still just a bit sweet: with something like peach cream, or a vague impression of a latte. Eventually develops light cocoa notes onto that sweet cream.

There is no doubt that this is a wonderful digestif. Of course, I can criticize it for lacking complexity (no real palate or nose evolution, no attention-grabbing spices), so it is not quite to the level of e.g. HP30. And at only 43%..., its character is lighter than e.g. the Signet's or Sonnalta's (46%). It is perhaps just too easy and smooth, but the fact is that I just want to keep drinking this. Aside from being utterly smooth, the creamy mouthfeel is a unique selling point, relative to similar malts.

The closest malts that I've had are the Glenlivet 25 (which is zestier and not as creamy or completely smooth), and the Aberlour 18 (which is a "relative steal" at 1/4 the price, despite lacking the same syrupy smoothness).

Thanks for the great review, very astute. I gave this whisky roughly the same score as you. But this is something that I'll enjoy at a friend's place or at a whisky festival. As wonderful as it is, I don't think the price tag of this (albeit wonderful) dram is justified. Damn good but damn expensive.

@hunggar Thanks! And also for your own review. Your "ginger ale" bit stuck with me while tasting (though of course it is "flat" ginger ale!).

Clearly I need to find your festivals-- or your friends.... Very upscale if they're serving this! So I have to agree. This dram should go in people's "must try" list, but not "must buy".

@hunggar

Glenmorangie has always been one of my preferred distilleries, and that’s for one reason; consistency.

I know, part of the fun of buying/tasting whisky is batch variations. It’s fun to watch the Aberlours and Ardbegs of the world evolve and change with every batch. And indeed, the whisky world would be a much less interesting place without those batch variations. But the whisky world also needs the opposite. For me, Glenmorange is exactly that. It’s my ‘old faithful.’ Are there batch variations? Undoubtedly. But they’re rarely, if ever, detectable to me. It’s a distillery that is always dependable and usually affordable.

You’ll note that I said ‘usually’ affordable. There are exceptions. The 25 year old release is anything but cheap. But regardless, this dram doesn’t seem to have changed in the least since I last tried it several months ago. Here’s my take on it:

Nose: I’m first hit with Glenmo’s signature vanilla/marmalade sweetness; something I’ve noticed in several of their releases. Light oak. Toffee. Wisps of white wine. Floral notes. Lovely ripe fruit. Fresh oranges, apricot, plums, and lemon cough drops. Very fresh and fruity for such an old whisky.

Palate: Smooth, with oak and white pepper. More fruit. There’s an earthiness to this dram. More marmalade. There’s also some notes in here that remind me of soda. More specifically, ginger ale and Irn-Bru.

Finish: Coffee, ginger, oak, pepper, and milk chocolate carry us through the medium-long finish.

This is great stuff. Very sweet, inviting, and alive. It has a stronger presence and more complexity than the younger Glenmo’s, yet it still remains a vibrant and fruity dram at heart. Very vibrant and fresh, in fact. It’s nice to see such an old whisky still keep its youthful liveliness. A lovely little dram. Not much to complain about here, other than the usual “this should have a higher abv.” rant.

However, as other reviewers have mentioned; while this is good, it’s overpriced. I can think of several other equally delicious bottles I could buy for the same price as one bottle of this. But hey… if you can afford it, why not?

I must admit, I'm very hit-and-miss when it comes to Glenmorangie. But I had this dram in a bar in Scotland and it was pretty incredible. You hit it on the nose. Price is high but it may well have been the best Glenmorangie I've had. Only complaint: the bottle is ugly.

@WhiskyBee: I appreciate the kind words. I don't actually own a bottle of this myself. And at that price, I probably never will! That why bars, whisky festivals, and rich friends are always a good thing! ;)

@talexander: My buddy was actually commenting how much he loved the look of this bottle, but I tend to agree with you. The word 'stubby' comes to mind...

@markjedi1

Glenmorangie is one of those distilleries that absolute does not allow its name to be printed on any independent release’s label. Although, of course, sometimes Glenmo is bottled by someone else. Remember the wonderful Westport by Malts of Scotland? And of course the Scotch Malt Whisky Society has bottled many casks, but that can be traced back to the fact that the SWMS is actually owned by the distillery. I digress. Let me get back to the rather expensive Glenmorangie 25 Year Old Quarter Century.

This Glenmorangie has a very sweet nose on quince, oranges and sultanas. Apple cake! Stewed plums and blackberry jam. Acacia honey. Beeswax. Very aromatic.

It is nicely oily and soft on the palate. Mildly spiced. The fruit from the nose is joined by sweet apples and the oranges are now turned into a marmalade. Fresh figs and a twig of eucalyptus. A bit floral. Somehow I am reminded of a lady in an orange dress (do not ask me why, maybe it is the shapely bottle).

It offers a very long finish with a twist: tannins, liquorice and something salty.

No need to quip, this is a grand Glenmorangie. Not easily found, I think. And the prices vary from 250 to 350 EUR. That, however, is overpriced in my opinion.

@galg

Nose: vanilla and fruit, intertwined with peat smoke, earthy peat and some brine. then back to the sweet malty notes as well as spices , vanilla and pepper. [I tried comparing this to Caol Ila 18 i have , and it’s a perfect match Islay wise… very similar notes.] A peppery Kugel, made before Shabbat. wow.

Palate : Starting with an assault of spice (pepper) , then peat-smoke , tar, with cereal sweetness on the sides. great balance and harmony of tastes.

Finish : Long with smoke staying there for quite some time, a wee fruitiness .

Bottom Line:

Wonderful marriage of highlands , Islands and Islay. Well made. great balance,and the interplay between peat smoke and fruit is lovely.

Just checking-- You have 2 reviews for this malt (and from the same day), and I believe that it is not supposed to be peated...? Curious. Maybe this was for the Finealta?

Mystery finally solved! This was a review for Compass Box Flaming Heart (10th Anni. edition): whiskyisrael.co.il/2010/11/…

@galg

Nose: Deep as the grand canyon. Starting quite sweet with honeycomb sweet vanilla,big-time. dried fruit (plum), lemon drops, tinned apricot. , jam sweet.

Palate : Creamy and oily, heavy stuff, damp wood, vanilla, espresso , milk chocolate, continuing with quite a few spices (ginger,pepper) which die after a few seconds. the fruits are here too (from the nose) very ripe fruit.

Finish : Bitter cocoa, with some chocolate notes (sweet), oak and fruit.

Bottom line : It’s awesome. If you are rich, buy this. If not, Price / Quality ratio is not the best you can get out there, but hey – if you are into Glenmo, you need this one on your shelf. Period.

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