Founded in 1843, The Glenmorangie distillery boasts the tallest stills (26 ft 3 inch tall, 16 feet 10.25 inches necks) in Scotland. It produces around 10 million bottles per annum, of which 6-6.5 million are sold in the UK with a 6% share of the single malt market.
The distillery was purchased by Macdonald family in 1918 and retained majority ownership of 52% of the company through a complicated London stock exchange listing. In 2004, the Glenmorangie along wiht Ardberg was bought by the French drinks company Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton for £300 million.
The distillation process was for decades undertaken by a staff of 16, known as The Sixteen Men of Tain. Glenmorangie uses a number of different cask types, with all products being matured in white oak casks which are manufactured from trees growing in Glenmorangie’s own forest in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri, United States. These new casks are left to air for two years before being leased to distillers Jack Daniel’s and Heaven Hill for them to mature bourbon in for four years. Glenmorangie then uses the barrels to mature their spirit. The Original range will mature entirely in ex-bourbon casks, while the Extra Matured range of bottlings are transferred into casks that were previously used to mature other products such as wine, port or sherry in a process called finishing. These form part of the regular range of products Glenmorangie makes. Following acquisition by LVMH, Glenmorangie produced a rare limited edition aged in casks previously used to mature Château Margaux; these bottlings are now (2011) extremely hard to find and are priced accordingly.
Brands produced in the distillery – Westport
Region: Highland
Area: Ross-shire
Current Owner: The Glenmorangie Company (LVMH Moet Hennessey Louis Vuitton)
Founded : 1843
Founder : William Matheson
No. of wash stills: 6
No. of spirit stills: 6
Capacity (litres): 6,000,000.00
Website: www.glenmorangie.com
English