Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban

Special thanks to /u/EMoneySC2 for the excellent swap we did 3 months ago. This drams for you (as you supplied me with it).

Went up north this past weekend, and was surrounded by a group of people all enjoying whisky (and rum, but that’s another subreddit). Specifically whiskies I brought to share. Because seriously, sharing whisky is pretty sweet.

Up first was time to share my sample of Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban. My buddy doesn’t like sherry casks, so I made sure to find something with port. He also told me he likes the Madeira cask finished one of these, so that’s something I’ll have to hit him up at some point.

Anyway, this particular version of Glenmorangie is treated to the typical 10 years of American White oak, and then put into ruby port pipes from the Quintas (wine estates of Portugal).

Thus the name: Quinta, for the region where the pipes aren’t a calling, and Ruban, for the ruby colour. Granted I don’t speak Portuguese, and I’ve been know to get these things wrong before, so for all I know they make all the workers eat 4 Reuben sandwiches before working on the whisky, thus scaring off potential thieves.

Because seriously, Sauerkraut farts will scare off anyone with a nose.

Price: N/A at the LCBO

Region: Highland

Abv: 46%

Colour: Peach drank

Nose: Orange sherbet, wood chips, lime, strawberry

Strong orange on the nose, and there’s a good amount of sweetness here. Don’t rule out the American Oak though; it’s still present.

Kinda like having a pseudo healthy sundae filled with fruit. Like we’re fooling ourselves. “This is healthy, it has fruit, right?” Tisk tisk…

Moving on…

Taste: Plum, anise, apple, caramel, raspberry, mango, bug spray

At the end there’s that flavour when you breathe in bug spray by mistake, and then have a weird rash for a summer. Well, without the rash.

This is quite fruity and has just a little bit of spice to it. Different levels of sweetness and acidity, quite nice.

Finish: Orange, chocolate, anise, butterscotch, basil, smoke

Finishes with more of the same, mixtures of orange, and yet there’s a random dash of smoke there that seems almost out of place, if not for the earlier wood notes.

Also it’s very sweet. Like, my teeth may fall out with happiness sweet, which for me I love, but for you… well, you have that new summer dress you want to fit in, and the beach is getting nicer, so you may want to back off.

Conclusion: This is better than the 10 year, better than the Nectar, and a decent port finished whisky. I’ve had better, sure, but this is nice to sip on, and have with a dessert. The bug spray and unfortunately almost one note nose take away from it, and I don’t know if the port was too strong or too weak. Hard to tell.

None the less, so far, of the finished Glenmorangies, this is the one to go for.

81/100

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