Glenmorangie in Thailand
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When I traveled a lot for work, I always had a good friend take me to Schiphol in my own car. It was easy, comfortable and I saved my company the high costs of long-term parking.
In return, he regularly had to get up early on a normal working day to pick me up from Schiphol at about six in the morning, so I always brought a good bottle of whiskey with me. Initially it was a bottle of Glenfiddich and some other brands, but after a tip from Ian, the red-haired owner of a Scottish restaurant in Alkmaar, it eventually became a Glenmorangie single malt. It was so good that after that it was exclusively whiskey of this brand. Unfortunately I don't remember prices, but usually it was somewhere around 50 Euro per bottle.
Glenmorangie Quarter Century
I was thinking about this - and many more of my Scottish adventures - when I came across an article in The Nation that reported the introduction into Thailand of the Glenmorangie Quarter Century. The name says it all, it is a single malt whisky, aged for 25 years in three different types of casks. First in white oak barrels of Jack Daniels bourbon from America, then in barrels of Spanish Oloroso sherry and finally in barrels of French wine from Burgundy.
Brand Ambassador
Brand ambassador is a nice name for a salesperson who has to sell a certain brand. In this case it was one Arnaud Mirey, who had a few bottles of Quarter Century opened during a tasting for invited guests (unfortunately I was not there) in Bangkok to test the special taste of this single malt together. Of course there is a nice, prosaic story to go with it and he called the drink "very rare and a wonderful 25-year-old whisky, with an intense, full flavour". He also "discovered" smells and flavors such as dried fruit, blackberries, plums, coffee, cinnamon and a hint of chocolate. Whether everyone felt the same way is not entirely clear. The price was very clear, because a bottle of Quarter Century costs the sweet sum of 22.000 Baht.
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Glenmorangie Single Malts
Fortunately, there are also other Glenmorangie Singel Malts available in Thailand that cost a bit less:
- Glenmorangie Original, which is aged for 10 years in a bourbon barrel to achieve a balanced ripe sweetness.
- Quinta Ruban, a dark whisky, that has been given an extra two years in Roby Port casks from the Portuguese Quintas.
- Lasanta, the counterpart of Quinta Ruban, has an enticing sweet aroma of toffee and walnuts with a hint of orange flavor thanks to two years in Spanish Oloroso barrels.
- Glenmorangie Extremlely Rare 18 years, of which 15 years in a bourban cask and then a further 3 years in an Oloroso cask to achieve a deep, rich sweetness with a nutty aftertaste.
Finally
I was still thinking about the price of that Glenmorangie Quarter Century. Now you can't compare Thai whiskey with Scotch, certainly not with Single Malts and certainly not with that Quarter Century, but I still thought that you can buy a lot (50?) bottles of Thai whiskey for that price.
But it is special and my friend, who likes whiskey very much, has always had to do with the lesser varieties of Glenmorangie (pronounced: glen-MOR-angie).
Source: Partly from The Nation
Without detracting from the qualities of Glenmorangie in the above commercial: it is 'just' one of the many single malt whiskies. Above, 'whiskey' is also written once - that word applies to the Irish and American versions, but for the Scottish variant the spelling 'whiskey' applies. There is no such thing as the tastiest whiskey - there are often major differences in taste. So very personal. Extremes occur, such as the 'heavy', iodine and seaweed scented Islays – Lagavullin, Laphroaigh etc. – and the 'light', more 'accessible' single malts such as Glenfiddich. I have a reasonable collection including a few 'cask strength' malts – at the alcohol strength as they come from the cask, often around 56%. Then you need to add a drop - and not much more - of water for taste.
Incidentally, Japan also produces a number of particularly good and globally appreciated single malts, but they are not available everywhere.
Years ago I came across a shop at Heathrow that had over 200 different single malts..........
Oh, we are dealing with a connoisseur and enthusiast here. Very nice, Cornelius!
I know absolutely nothing about whiskey – without the e indeed – but used the bit from The Nation to tell the story of my whiskey friend – as my Thai wife calls him.
That Ian in The Highlander in Alkmaar has about 130 different whiskies, not all single malt of course!
Paul,
Do you know what they make of that?
I always wonder that.
I often drink it there, I think it's a nice tropical drink 🙂
95% sugar cane / molasses and 5% rice is the Mekhong, I think SangSom does not deviate much from it and in any case falls under the heading of rum.
Has nothing to do with whisk(e)y, and is not drinkable in its pure form.
Have you ever received a bottle of Black Cat Thai "superior whisky" as a gift, it was like Petroleum.
Nothing beats a Bourbon on the rocks for me, but that has a different price tag.
Thank you Peter,
It goes without saying that it is not whiskey, and indeed that always went well with me.
Still, I always like Sangsom.
I also knew that it was probably some kind of rum, but had no idea what they made it from, so now it is, thanks….
If there's one thing that can't be hailed, it's bourbon.
Then much prefer SangSom pure. With a block of ice….nice 🙂
Haha, I usually drink there too, I really like it. 🙂
By the way, I always drink my beer there the Thai way, just with ice in my glass.
That way it doesn't collapse so much with that heat, and you also dry out less quickly.
Hey thanks Paul, I get that too.
I always thought in my ignorance that it was fired from bananas or something, thought there are a lot of sugars in it, but had never thought about sugar cane.
Incidentally, I find Sangsom excellent to do in the tropics, lots of ice in it, not bad at all.
I can still remember the Mehkong well, that was the very first time we were in Thailand, was on the river with such a boat, stood there with a Scotsman, we were asked do you want a whiskey? The poor man cheered up. We got that glass, and then that smell brrrr, it was unbearable. We both then put our hand around that glass, and when he wasn't paying attention, we threw it overboard.
Later he came to us, how do you like our whiskey? We said delicious, but one is enough with that heat, thank you. We also felt bad for that man.
I don't like those "hybrid" drinks either, Southern comfort http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Comfort is not for me either.
Thank you for explaining.
Where the Scots mostly use barley as a raw material, the Americans stoke their Bourbon from a corn/rye mixture. Very often Bourbons have a strong smoky smell/taste, which is caused by the fact that the oak barrels are scorched on the inside with a flame before the drink is stored in them, the so-called scorching.
Speaking of whiskey: do you all know the Isaan whisky, Lao Khao?
Has nothing to do with whiskey at all, but it is separate stuff that can also make you horribly tired.
I don't understand how the Thai can eat that uncooled per bottle. Usually after two glasses, with a lot of ice, it stops for me…
Whiskey has now also become an investment object. Many single malts – especially the rarer ones made in small series – have risen sharply in price over the years. I still have a fairly rare edition of a Bruichladdich 18yrs, which I bought about 10 years ago for 70 euros and which is now selling for around 259 euros on specific websites. If only I had bought a box…
Indeed Cornelis, nice returns can be achieved and I have now built up a collection. In due course I want to sell them to generate an extra passive income and oh well if I stay with some bottles they can always be drunk. 😉
Very recognizable. A friend of mine always took me to Schiphol Airport and picked me up again after my vacation. I always brought him a bottle of good whiskey. Each time a different brand. He wouldn't open that bottle until I came to visit. He was a real connoisseur. The Glenmorangie came out as one of the tastiest. But surprisingly, the Irish, much cheaper, Tullamore dew was also very popular. He clearly liked the Laphroaig a lot less. All this is of course a matter of taste.
Recommended: “Dimple'
This is also the most beautiful bottle and Dimple makes you simple.
The strongly scented, smoky and iodine, sea salt and seaweed influenced whiskeys such as Laphroaig and Lagavulin take some getting used to. At a first meeting you will not be immediately convinced........
Personally, I don't think that type of whiskey comes into its own in a tropical climate, but it does by the fireplace on a cold winter evening with a chilly wind around the house…
Above I responded to keespattaya.
Incidentally, also brought a good single malt to Thailand a few times, for own use. Made the mistake of opening a bottle of Cardhu single malt (12yrs) once to give the Thai visitors a taste. Well, I didn't enjoy that. A lot of water in it and then just swallow it, there was no tasting, I might as well have opened a bottle of Thai 'whisky' of a few hundred baht. So I will never do that again!
According to a Scotsman who lived in our village for a while, the taste of the whiskey mainly depends on the water used. That is why the whiskeys from the islands taste very different. Fortunately, another acquaintance of ours liked the Laphroaig very much. So we on the Glenmorangie and he on the Laphroaig. Because my friend unfortunately passed away, I now only take a bottle for myself now and then. Last time a bottle of 14 year old Highland Park. Also very tasty!!.
I was born in Schiedam. My grandfather had a distillery and a few pubs. That's why I always give friends who take care of my house and car a bottle of Ketel 1 Mature during my absence.
Also highly appreciated by whiskey lovers. Of which act.