Glenmorangie was founded in 1843 and has gone through numerous permutations over time. Boasting the tallest stills in Scotland, they produce 6.5 million liters of single malt whisky a year fed from the nearby Tarlogie Springs. For the past few decades, Glenmorangie has also been one of the best selling single malts in Scotland itself and expanded into the luxury international market, driven by cask finishing started in the 1980s. This history of cask management is evident in the “Barrel Select Release” Series, where this Glenmorangie 13 Year Cognac Finish was released in 2021. A little different than many finishes that occur at the very end of maturation (hence the term “finishing”), the initial maturation in ex-bourbon casks lasted 8 years before being transferred to ex-Cognac casks that had been used already several times for the remaining years.
Port Askaig 8 Year
Port Askaig is an independent bottling from Elixir Distillers, owned by Sukhinder and Rajbir Singh under their Specialty Drinks Group umbrella. Unlike some independent bottlers, Port Askaig does not always disclose where they source each of their offerings, likely due to contractual obligations. Some research into other reviews on the Port Askaig 8 seem to indicate this offering is sourced from Caol Ila, though there is nothing saying that will always be true. While it’s fun to guess the source, at the end of the day this is an Islay single malt purposefully crafted for a particular profile, which is how we will review it. The first offerings of Port Askaig came on the market in 2009.