The Spontaneous Glenmorangie Visit That Became a Whisky Adventure

Some distillery visits are carefully planned and most of the time well in advance. This one definitely wasn’t. As a Whisky Monkey on a motorcycle trip in Scotland, a spontaneous 165-mile (265 kilometers) ride through the Highlands is a challenging, but rewarding one. Besides enjoying great roads and stunning scenery, we had only one question on our minds the entire way: would we make it in time.

Like with mos tdistillery visits, you don't come in just for the whisky. You get to know the story behind the distillery. Why the stills stand where they are, why the whisky tastes like it does. Where did Glenmorangies story begin?

The story of Glenmorangie begins in 1843 with William Matheson and his wife Anne, building a distillery in the Scottish Highlands. He bought two second-hand gin stills and equipped his distillery with them while the view of the Dornoch Firth laid the foundation of what would become one of the most famous Scotch whisky distilleries in the world.

The name Glenmorangie comes from the Gaelic words ‘gleann mor na sith’, which translates to 'valley of tranquility'. Today, Glenmorangie produces roughly 6 to 7 million liters of spirit per year, available in more than 100 countries globally.

Our motorcycle ride started way south near Loch Leven, famous for its trout fishing, and brought us straight through Tyside to the Highlands. A-roads were followed by empty stretches through Cairngorm, while the weather changed almost every hour. It ended with the last miles of some fantastic sweeping roads north of Inverness toward Tain.

We arrived rather late, but were welcomed by Maisie, one of the ladies working at the visitor center. As our time was limited, we went straight to the stills building. The copper stills at Glenmorangie are the tallest in Scotland, with their necks reaching 5.14 meters, roughly the height of an adult giraffe, which is why the giraffe became the distillery’s unofficial symbol. The stills were originally inspired by old gin stills bought in the 19th century, and their height allows only the lightest vapours to rise to the top during distillation. That creates Glenmorangie’s elegant, fruity, and delicate spirit style. Standing and walking between them was very impressive.

Next stop: a warehouse. And not just any warehouse, we headed straight toward Warehouse No. 3. This warehouse at the Glenmorangie Distillery is one of the distillery’s most storied maturation warehouses and has become something of a cult among Glenmorangie enthusiasts. It is believed to be the oldest surviving 19th-century warehouse at Glenmorangie.

It was reportedly used to mature some of the earliest Glenmorangie single malt produced after the distillery’s founding in 1843. Unlike modern racked warehouses, this one is an old style dunnage warehouse with sandstone walls, earthen floors, and heavy oak beams. These conditions create a cool, humid, relatively stable maturation environment.

A big part of its reputation also comes from its location near the Dornoch Firth coastline, and it is suggested that the maritime air influences maturation and gives whiskies from this warehouse a subtly different profile. Walking between the casks and breathing in the angels’ share gave us a sense of connection to the whisky’s slow journey from spirit to single malt. Fun fact: Warehouse No. 3 was originally a cowshed.

Another striking detail while walking on the distillery terrain is the presence of the orange colour. Whether it is in the visitor center, shop, or other details like merchandise, it can be seen all around you. As per Glenmorangie, the orange colour reflects the character of the whisky itself, bright, warm, and fruity. At the same time, it represents the notes often found in Glenmorangie whisky, such as orange zest, honey, citrus, and soft spice.

We end our tour in the visitor shop where we buy a bottle of Glenmorangie Harrison Ford Limited Edition. This is for a future review purposes, so keep an close eye on our site. Harrison Ford himself reviewed this whisky by stating: 'It’s very nice', but for now we will quote his own words while playing famous Star Wars character Han Solo:’ Never tell me the odds!’

We would like to give special thanks to Maisie, Venetia, and Kathryn for making this tour possible and memorable.