Tasting Notes: Glenmorangie: Finealta

Glenmorangie: Finealta (Scottish Highland Single Malt Whisky: No Age Statement: 46% ABV)

Visual: Bronzed apricot flesh.

Viscosity: Quite thick and fast streaks.

Nose: Smoke. Dried apricots. Pears. Banana candy sweets. Rice wine. Light peat and apples. Water dampens lighter notes and brings out smoke and wet rocks.

Body: Smooth and with light peat and a noticeable touch of alcohol fire. Slight custard and marmalade. Water adds peaches and passion fruit. Sherried raisins, chocolate and if you get the balance just right, a delicious run of pear.

Finish: Milk chocolate. Raisins. marmalade, light oak and apricot. Water adds meringue and much sweeter and richer chocolate.  In both cases there is slight alcohol fire, but with water the peat roams more.

Conclusion: This was the whisky that made me pay attention to Glenmorangie again after quite a break from drinking their whisky. A peated Glenmorangie, I could hardly imagine such a thing.

Cleverly, despite it being the unique selling point, they have decided to play the peat very subtly. It’s present underneath, but far from dominant in the whisky.  The main body is indeed quite sweet and fruity, though not as fruity as the nose, which is just bursting with joyous note perfect apple and pear that oozes through.

Possibly this discrepancy can be attributed to the slight alcohol fire present.  Without water I could enjoy the spirit, but found it hard to pin down individual flavours over the excited alcohol which seemed a lot more noticeable than I would expect for the abv.

Thus comes a dilemma, for tinkering with water lets the body open up, but as it does so that amazing aroma starts to weaken.  I would advise taking your time to just enjoy that first aspect to the full before moving on to water experimentation.

The right water balance is also quite hard to find, just a bit too much can significantly weaken it, so go drop by drop.   When you find the balance you get amazing pears and peaches coming through, so it’s well worth taking time over it. This tinker and test makes me glad to have a bottle worth to play with.

The end is the easiest bit to get right, just a touch of water and boom, lovely chocolate and a hint of fruit .

So, definitely a bit more punch and life than the average Glenmorangie, which I like, and such an amazing raw nose.  The peat is an edge not a bludgeon, and doesn’t feel gimmicky.   The fiery nature and need for care with water may make it a poor choice for a single measure, but a fine choice for a nights session.

Not perfect, but I have a good chunk of time for it.

Background: Originally tried at a whisky show, I’ve been keeping an eye out for this getting an open commercial release for while. The second of Glenmorangies private editions where they try out something a bit different. Quite extensive fiddling with water levels marked this tasting note so it had plenty of time to shine.