New collection revealed by Glenmorangie

A new vintage collection, Bond House No.1 has been released by the LVMH-owned Glenmorangie distillery. The collection of limited-edition releases explores the brand's reserves of aged whisky, each distilled in a single year.

The first expression released in the collection is Glenmorangie Grand Vintage Malt 1990.

Glenmorangie’s Bond House No. 1 series aims to showcase the distillery’s most complex vintage malts. The collection takes its name from the largest of Glenmorangie’s 19th century bonded warehouses. Warehouse No. 1 was home to the distillery’s casks of maturing spirit. In 1990, as Glenmorangie sought to meet growing demand, its role was to change entirely. Bonded warehouse No. 1 was transformed into a new still house, home to Glenmorangie’s copper stills, which it claims to be the tallest in Scotland. Today, Bonded Warehouse No. 1 is the heart of the distillery’s whisky creation, revered as Glenmorangie’s Highland cathedral.

Glenmorangie Grand Vintage Malt 1990 marks the year of change at the distillery. The year is also memorable for Glenmorangie, as the barley harvest from the previous summer proved problematic for whisky makers in 1990.

Dr Bill Lumsden, Glenmorangie’s director of distilling, whisky creation and whisky stocks, says: “The Bond House No. 1 collection gives connoisseurs a unique opportunity to explore the individuality each year has lent our award-winning spirit. I’m delighted that Glenmorangie Grand Vintage Malt 1990 will launch the collection. Even today, few can explain how a spirit so delicious could emerge from a barley crop of such challenges. Combined with a quarter-century of Glenmorangie’s exceptional cask expertise, its finesse and vibrancy has been preserved through the ages, to create a whisky brimming with aromas of heather honey, mandarin and candied fruits and tastes of orange syrup and vanilla, zesty, herbal top notes, baked apples and brown sugar.”

Glenmorangie Grand Vintage Malt 1990 is bottled at 43% ABV. Priced at £495, it is now available from selected whisky specialist retailers.

21 December 2016 - Sam Coyne The Drinks Report, editorial assistant