Glenmorangie 25 Years “The Quarter Century” Review

This Glenmorangie 25 Years “The Quarter Century”, and the Grand Vintage 1990, were made possible by a generous friend who brought these to a private, backyard, tasting and then asked me to take them home and review them… it’s good to have generous friends (thank you).

Glenmorangie only released “The Quarter Century” once and after that the long-aged whiskies all fell into the Grand Vintage line. There have been some other long-aged official releases from Glenmo, tomorrow being one, but this and the Glenmo Grand Vintage 1990 were among the first to use this bottle shape for the ultra-premium line. And so far, all three I’ve had from this line/shape have been good.

Maybe it’s the balanced use of all their core cask types. Maybe it’s the perfectly balanced oak notes that come with 20+ years of maturation. Maybe they seriously take their time in selecting the best honey barrels. Maybe it’s all of these factors and more.

I don’t know their process or methods, but the Glenmo folks do seem to ensure high-quality whisky goes into releases like this Quarter Century. You’ve probably picked up on some subtl hints about this one already, but to REALLY get to know it, we need to pour a dram.

Let’s get to drinkin’.

Glenmorangie 25 Years “The Quarter Century” – Details and Tasting Notes

Whiskey Details

Natural Color

Style: Single Malt (Scotch)
Region: Highlands, Scotland
Distiller: Glenmorangie

Mash Bill: 100% Malted Barley
Cask: ex-Bourbon, ex-Red Wine, ex-Oloroso
Age: 25 years
ABV: 43%

Glenmorangie 25 Years “The Quarter Century” Price: NA – Auction, Specialty Store or Private Seller (originally ~$500)

Related Whiskey

Glenmorangie Astar
Glenmorangie Companta
Glenmorangie Cask Masters “A”
Glenmorangie Lasanta 12 Years
Glenmorangie Finealta

“The whisky is a blend of single malts that have spent twenty-five years in a combination of ex-bourbon barrels sourced from the American Ozarks, ex-red wine casks from Burgundy, France, and ex-Oloroso sherry Spanish oak.” – Glenmorangie

Glenmorangie 25 Years “The Quarter Century” Tasting Notes

EYE
Coppery honey

NOSE
Dried orchard fruit, sultanas, oak, sugar cookies, baking spice, Honey Nut Cheerios, dark honey and light herbal and raisiny notes.

In an odd way, it’s refreshing. It’s light, but not spineless, it’s fresh but oaky, it’s… kinda odd. Good, but odd.

PALATE
Dried orchard fruit, dark honey, dried dark fruit, raisiny sweetness, roasted nuts, baking spice, pastries and a slight herbalness.

The palate seems to lighten up compared to the aroma, but it’s still good. Delicious even.

FINISH
Medium-short -> Dried orchard fruit, oak and baking spice with a light pastry sweetness.

BALANCE, BODY and FEEL
Good sense of balance, medium-light body, light soft feel.

Glenmorangie 25 Years “The Quarter Century” – Overall Thoughts and Score

I was surprised by how short the finish was, especially compared to the Grand Vintage 1990. I was also surprised by how light it came through in total. With something holding this age I was expecting something with a bit more gravitas.

It’s like a slightly deeper, yet simultaneously lighter, Glenmorangie 18, but at 4-7x the price, if you can find it. It’s a good whisky, but if I had laid down the $500+ for it I’d be a bit disappointed in what I got for my money. The goal of releases like this should be to highlight the magic of the distillery and overdeliver to the consumer. Not neuter what could have been an intense sensory experience.

Whiskies like the Glenmorangie 25 Years “The Quarter Century” should be NCF and bottled at 46% ABV bare minimum when the angels allow. Let the consumer add water to their ultra-aged whisky, don’t do it for them. They’re adults, they can handle a dropper to strip away layers of alcohol and discover the depths of a whisky like this.

SCORE: 4/5 (good, definitely recommend ~ B+ | 87-89)