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Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban

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@VictorReview by @Victor

21st Aug 2012

0

Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban
  • Nose
    23
  • Taste
    23
  • Finish
    22
  • Balance
    17
  • Overall
    85

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Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

Glenmorangie Port Wood finished Quinta Ruban reviews have been all over the map, good, middling, and bad. The reviewed bottle has been open for 19 months. The review is of the current bottle, with comments made as to how it got to the present state

Nose: fragrant port wine flavours, sweet, with a decent dry balance. Wine, malt, and very light peat are apparent. At this point this is great, and has gotten more intensely fragrant with some oxidation

Taste: Whoa! Jekyll and Hyde! This bottle of whisky was for almost a full year just a mishmash of flavours which did NOT jell together into anything coherent or good-tasting. Somewhere around 11-12 months after the bottle was opened this became coherent and delicious. It has stayed that way since. Delicious port wine flavours, good malt,light peat, mellow, and adequate wood support

Finish: nowadays, this is a very good finish, albeit with just a slight touch of sour over-oxidation added. Long finish, with the wine and malt combo going a long pleasant distance

Balance: this is a nice whisky since it has come together. Prior to that coming together this bottle of Quinta Ruban just didn't work at all for me. I would have rated this whisky 68 pts for 11 months. Scores for this review are for now, with 4 pts deducted from the balance score for having to wait a year for it. Whiskies like this pose a big question: would I really like to buy another bottle of something that I might not enjoy for a year's time? Probably not

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5 comments

@vanPelt
vanPelt commented

Victor, I decided to try the experiment. Despite a poor first experience with samples of this, I respect Glenmorangie enough (and your feedback) to give a second chance, to a bottle of this now.

How full should the bottle be for the 11 months? I've taken just 2 drams out... (And forced it down, for the sake of science.) So, to be continued.... in 1 year!

10 years ago 0

@Victor
Victor commented

@vanPelt, if '2 drams' = 90 ml, then I think that that should be sufficient introduction of air into the bottle to carry out the experiment. I look forward to hearing of your results.

10 years ago 0

@vanPelt
vanPelt commented

I'm becoming a believer. With 50ml removed and 5 months in between, there was a substantial improvement. I think it's still not complete yet, so will check again in summertime, now with 100ml removed. A good experiment so far though!

I wonder how true this effect of oxidation is with port cask finishes in general.

9 years ago 0

@Victor
Victor commented

@vanPelt, I am of course always interested to hear of your ongoing experiment with your bottle of Quinta Ruban.

Thus far I cannot say that I've observed the same pattern with other Port finished whiskies. The huge degree of change which can occur in some whiskies after the bottle is opened seems rather mysterious to me, mostly because it is so variable from whisky to whisky, and also often from batch to batch.

Quinta Ruban is also especially mysterious to me because so many people like it right away after they have opened the bottle and do not have the same experience with it that I/we have had.

9 years ago 0

@vanPelt
vanPelt commented

I, too, have found it mysterious to observe reviewers claiming to enjoy a fresh bottle, on Connosr and elsewhere. The experienced people that I know seem to agree that there's an initial harshness.

The only port-matured whisky (unpeated) I have found to be at its peak from a fresh bottle-- without even a day of oxidation-- is the Balvenie 21. The others have benefited from at least a day or two, and I find the Quinta Ruban to be the outlier in taking a month or more.

9 years ago 0