Glenmorangie Ealanta: Borderline Perfect

A whisky which was hidden away for 19 years at the famed Glenmorangie Distillery in Tain, Scotland, emerged and was immediately proclaimed as the world’s best whisky by Jim Murray, author of the Whisky Bible – a noted industry judging standard – with a 97.5 rating out of 100. The whisky had been aged in virgin white oak barrels from Missouri and then hidden away within the distillery to avoid mistakenly blending it with other sub-par substances. Glenmorangie Ealanta [Gaelic for “skilled and ingenious”] was liberated from its American barrels “three or four years ago” according to the Glenmorangie master distiller, Bill Lumsden, and then sat around at the distillery while Lumsden determined in which year it would reach its tasting peak. That year was 2013 and Glenmorangie has released it as part of its private edition set. The single malt Ealanta is said to have an aroma of toffee, butterscotch and vanilla with a taste suite of orange peel, almond, vanilla and marzipan.

A bottle of Glenmorangie Ealanta was initially priced at $120 but expect higher pricing with its new designation as the world’s best whisky.