Glenmorangie The Lasanta

We finally arrive at last of my trio of Glenmorangie reviews. The destination is the Lasanta which is sherry cask extra matured; whatever that means in plain English. Applying the marketing bull filter it looks like a sherry finish whisky and I also note the lack of an age statement here as previously the Lasanta was a 12 year old?

I'll put that down to a limitation with the 10cl miniature label as the official website still refers to the Lasanta as being 12 years old still and you'll see in the above photograph its now the sherry cask finish. For the record this whisky spent the first decade in ex-bourbon casks before being finished for 2 years in Spanish Oloroso and PX sherry casks. It's non-chill filtered but will have some artificial colouring, which I know from a presentation from Dr Bill Lumsden that they are looking to step away from when possible. 

Glenmorangie is synonymous with cask finishing across a whole spectrum of whiskies. We've taken a wee tour of The Quinta Ruban port cask finish and the Nectar D'Or 12 year old. So far its been a mixed experience and hopefully I've saved the best till last. This Lasanta will set you back around £40 if you care to purchase a full-sized bottle.

Colour: gold
Nose: rubber oranges? Sounds like a Kate Bush song. Tobacco leaves, honey, apricots and cranberries. A very pleasant if slightly safe nose.
Taste: barley sweets, Refreshers to a certain extent and more of those orange notes and honey. A little liquorice in there as well but there's an evident roughness to the spirit. It's not fully balanced with the sherry cask almost an arranged marriage and not a harmonious one at that. Almost a strong orange liqueur and I felt it benefited from time in the glass.

Overall: perfectly middle of the road stuff with a sherry twist. Nothing to dislike or really shout home about. It really depends on what you're looking for in a whisky and if its more about being seen drinking whisky than the actual experience, then this is ideal tumbler and ice territory.