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Whisky Magazine News - Pure craftsmanship

Wed 19 Jan 2005

Pure craftsmanship

Glenmorangie prides itself on its wood policy – and its dedication is reflected with the release of the Artisan cask, the culmination of 20 years research to pinpoint which type of oak wood produced the greatest depth of flavour.

Dr Bill Lumsden, Glenmorangie’s master distiller, explains: “We are the only distillery in the world to select slow-grown oak trees to make our whisky barrels. These trees can be found in the Ozark mountains in Missouri, thanks to poor soil and shady conditions. After felling, the wood is air-dried naturally for a couple of years – as opposed to the industry norm of drying wood in a hot kiln for a few weeks.”

The result is a highly porous wood which helps the spirit extract more flavour during maturation.

Glenmorangie Artisan cask is the first expression to be entirely matured in these special casks, Michael and Dave sample a dram in this issue’s tastings

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