Glenmorangie Single Malt Scotch is widely known as the progenitor of a method of aging that employs a selection of previously used wine barrels to finish off their whiskies. Even now, as the company, under the operation of Moet Hennessy, the drinks arm of French luxury giant LVMH, takes a dramatic turn to reposition the product with a higher profile bottle, a more deluxe image and to limit the number of wood finishes to Sherry, Port and Sauterne, the classic Glenmorangie spirit and wood management methods are vitally important to the make-up of the world's fifth best-selling single malt.

To take a closer look at that management, we checked in with distillery manager Graham Eunson, who has been at Tain since 1999.

Question #1
Adams Beverage Group (ABG): Tell me a bit about the range of repsonsibilities a distillery manager has for Glenmorangie.

Graham Eunson:The distillery managers role has changed quite a bit over the years. Historically they would be based entirely at the distillery and look after the production and maturation of the whisky. Added into the mix would be a certain amount of financial responsibility and looking after the interest of the workforce. Ensuring compliance has become increasingly important in all areas - Customs and excise issues have long had an importance but health and safety and environmental aspects have taken a much higher profile in recent years with new legislation being introduced regularly.

The biggest change however is in the Brands Ambassadorial role. Managers now routinely carry out VIP tours showing guests around the distillery as well as attending whisky events all over the world talking to people about whisky - yes it's a tough job !

Question #2
ABG: Wood managment is a major part of what makes Glenmorangie what it is: what goes into keeping on top of that?

Eunson: The maturation is the single most influential part of the process - we estimate that around 60% of the character in our ten years old comes from the time spent in the cask. Our wood management policy covers everything from the sourcing of empty casks for filling, the style of warehouse in which they are kept, number of times casks are used, and the selection of mature stock to enable consistent character in the bottled product. Added to this is the previous history of the casks ie. if they were used for bourbon, sherry or wines and even the hand selection of the trees from which our casks are made. So because of this complexity, you need good relationships with suppliers, good communications internally and well maintained records to allow all of this to work easily.

Question #3
ABG: Many Scotch whisky makers have introduced different wood finishes: is imitation the sincerest form of flattery here?

Eunson: When we introduced the wood finish range back in the mid 90's, it was an innovation in the world of whisky. In reality it had probably been done many years before, but more by accident than design, on a very small and relatively uncontrolled basis. Most distillers now have some form of wood finishing as the technique allows you to compliment your "house style" without masking or straying too far from it. But yes, it is good to have been at the forefront of this.

Question #4
ABG: Even the Glenmorangie 10 Year Old, often considered a perfect entry whisky because of its welcoming gentleness and subtlety, depends on multiple wood for its character, correct?

Eunson: Correct. Our ten year old uses ex-bourbon casks only but the "recipe" is still complex. Differing ages of casks are used with ten years old being the youngest, stock is taken from different parts of different warehouses as this can lead to slight variations in maturation characteristics but the complexity and balance are achieved by always using both first and second fill ex-boubons never just one or the other. This give us the wood driven flavours from the first fill but also allows the more subtle character from the second fills to shine through which provides us with the complexity and balance we strive for.

Question #5
ABG: The quality of water used to make whisky is underappreciated, but the bubbling springs that feed your distillery are considered very important, yes?

Eunson: Water is very important to all distilleries - we can't make whisky without it ! It is, however, often overlooked in the role it can play. At Glenmorangie our water is uniquely hard, containing lots of mineral salts, picked up over the one hundred years that it takes our water to pass through the sandstone bedrock in our catchment area before it rises in the Tarlogie Springs. It is very difficult to say just how much effect this has on the enzymes during mashing or the yeast during fermentation but believing as we do " if it ain't broke, don't fix it " we would never consider treating our water in case we alter the final characters..

Question #6
ABG: Last year's Margaux cask got lots of attention, but the Artisan's Cask is also very interesting - can you talk a little about it?

Eunson: The Artisan cask is the result of many years of hard work and study into the relationship between the wood and the whisky. We discovered that the best type of wood to use, for Glenmorangie, was American White Oak, ex-bourbon casks. This is probably used by about 80% of the distillers in Scotland, but our research went much further than this. The trees we use are hand selected form the Ozark Mountains in Missouri as the low rain fall and poor soil quality lead to very slow growth in the wood. This results in the growth rings being closer together but also most of this growth takes place early in the year giving a different density to the wood compared to normal late growth wood. - this gives an improved ingress of spirit into the wood when we come to use them. The trees are felled at about 100 years old before being air seasoned over a few years rather than just a few weeks in a kiln and the casks are then filled with Bourbon to condition them prior to shipping them over to Scotland for us to fill. The Artisan Cask bottling gives enthusiasts the chance to taste the results for themselves.


Question #7
ABG: What's your favorite expression of Glenmorangie?

Eunson: My favorite whisky is inclined to depend on the circumstances, the mood I'm in or even the mood Margaret, my wife, is in, but the one I always come back to and would want to take to a desert Island with me, has to be the Ten Years Old Glenmorangie because of its complexity and balance.

Find out more about Glenmorangie here.