Glenmorangie Distillery

Glenmorangie is one of the bigger distilleries. They are proud to use a hard water rich of minerals. Also they claim some superlative, I have forgotten which one. (Almost each distillery has found some aspect where it holds the max and can proclaim the superlative - biggest, biggest selling in Scotland, tallest/smallest stills, oldest stills in use, biggest number of stills, smallest distillery, highest situated distillery, most Western distillery, using hardest/softest water, using most peat/no peat at all, and so on and so on.) -
This was the first distillery where I was allowed to take photographs everywhere, even in the still house.

Our tour guide lady had a really large group (about 40) to manage, but it was not a problem for her, with her powerful voice and her probable celtic ancestors. All guided tours include a dram of whisky for tasting. Most you get the standard bottling (often called "classic" which sounds better) for this included tasting. At Glenmorangie one half of the group got the standard 10-years-old, the other half got an older version. Obviously all the couples of our large group exchanged drams, so we could compare the two Glenmorangies. - We bought a "Cellar 13" bottling, which is the warehouse nearest to the sea shore, and a designer whisky finished in burgundy red whine casks, and finally a "classical" cask strength bottle.

Glenmorangie distillery

Glenmorangie visitor centre

process control station

modern mash tun

the stills and our high-energy tour guide

large still house

this is not a show: here runs the real stuff! (spirit safe)

near to the spirit safe the still master controls the process

electronic workbench of the still master

casks: Glenmorangie is well known for its perfect wood management

in a warehouse (called "cellar" here)