Glenmorangie A Tale of the Forest Highland Single Malt Scotch

VITALS:

- $100

- 92 Proof

- NAS

- 2023

- Highlands

I am always a fan of free whisky! I know some whiskey collectors would prefer not to get whiskey as a gift, because it might end up being something they'd never buy or it might be something that they already have. I, however, welcome any and all whiskey gifts. It's always a good present, even if it's something I've had a thousand times before. Free whisky is great whisky!

In this case, I got this bottle as a gift from my wife, who thought it came in a pretty box.  I'm fairly certain that's about all the aforethought that went into this particular gift. But, in this case, I was thrilled to receive it.  I'm a fan of Glenmorangie to start with, and a limited release with some experimentation (kilning barley with botanicals) is just the kind of thing that I want to grab when I see it, but often pass due to the risk of the unknown (and usually somewhat hefty price tag).

It could be that the packaging, and the name, and the description of the process, all got in my head making me predisposed to certain flavors and aromas. But, the first things that I noticed were all almost herbal, with notes of sage and oregano hitting me right away. There was also a decent amount of pine on the nose, along with a bit of an earthy note. I even got notes of coriander and fennel, and at times it reminded me of a good deep dish pizza, as weird as that sounds.

As to flavor, it was definitely herbal, regardless of any predisposition.  I got the sage and oregano. There was also a certain fennel note, which, while I'm not a huge fan of fennel, did offer an interesting note and seemed to blend well with everything else.

I didn't really get any pine or mossy notes, as the write-up on the box suggested.  In fact, I got a decent amount of sweetness to go with the herbal notes, including notes of honey and even richer notes of caramel.  These sweeter notes actually worked really well with the herbal notes, giving a bit of a sweet and savory balance.

The finish provided a bit of a black pepper spice to further balance out any sweetness. It also had a cracker note, kind of like a wheat cracker with a bit of an earthy note to it.  Unfortunately, here the caramel and herbal notes seemed to fade away fairly quickly, leaving me with mostly a bread note in my mouth.

All in all, this was a fun single malt.  There were things that I absolutely loved about it (the herbal honey notes) and things that I wish were better (the disappointing finish). But, I'm so glad I got to try it, and I did not find myself hesitating to grab this bottle when the mood for an unpeated Scotch hit me.

Grade: B