Glenmorangie Scotch Single Malt 14 Year Quinta Ruban

In 1738, a brewery was built upon Morangie Farm in the Highlands region of Scotland. A century later, William Matheson acquired the farm and equipped the Morangie brewery with two stills that he purchased second-hand, and renamed the brewery-converted-distillery Glenmorangie.

Glenmorangie Single Malt Scotch Whisky is made using malted barley, which is mashed and fermented with water sourced from the Tarlogie Spring. The water produced from the spring, which spends nearly a century underground being filtered through layers of limestone before it is extracted, is unusually rich in minerals. In the 1980's, when development in the area threatened the spring's water quality, Glenmorangie purchased 600 acres of land around and including the spring, in order to ensure consistent water quality and adequate supply.

After the barley has been fermented, the wash is twice distilled through Glenmorangie's copper-pot stills by a team of 16 distillers known as the Sixteen Men of Tain. Glenmorangie's stills are equipped with relatively small boiler pots, which increases the exposure of the whisky to the copper, resulting in a more pure flavor. In addition, the stills are nearly seventeen feet tall - the tallest of any distillery in Scotland - and as a result, produce a lighter, more refined whisky.

Following distillation, Glenmorangie The Quinta Ruban 14 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky is aged for a minimum of ten years in American white oak casks that were previously used to mature bourbon. After its decade-long beauty rest, the single malt is double-barreled, or finished, for an additional two years in ruby port pipes sourced from the Quintas of Portugal.

As a result of this finishing process, the whisky has a slightly rosy-pink color, along with an aroma of sandalwood, dark chocolate and rich spices. The aroma gives way to velvety textures with notes of dark chocolate, nutty oak and caramel apples, and finishes with touches of pine raisins, dates, mint and plums.

The whisky earned the Gold Medal at the International Wine and Spirit Competition, where it was named "Best in Class" for two consecutive years. In addition, it earned the Double Gold Medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2013, and a score of 92 points from Jim Murray's Whisky Bible.