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Glenmorangie
Founded
1843
Region
Highland
Status
Operational
Company
Production type
Single malt
Production capacity
7,100,000 litres per year
Glenmorangie is perhaps the best-known Highland malt distillery and is located near Tain, along the banks of the Dornoch Firth. Having started life as a brewery, it was converted into a whisky distillery by William Matheson in 1843. It was acquired in 1918 by the blending company, Macdonald & Muir, and despite being an important part of its blends, the important decision to focus on its single malt brand was taken in 1959.
Today the distillery is part of the holdings of French multinational, LVMH, who have invested heavily in its expansion since acquiring it in 2004. Among the investments is most notably the Lighthouse distillery, a separate on-site facility unveiled in 2021. Featuring modified versions of the famously long-necked Glenmorangie stills, it is an experimental operation intended to facilitate innovation in future production at the main distillery.
While single malt from Glenmorangie was being bottled in the early 20th century, the brand as we recognise it today was introduced in 1959. Incredibly, the distillery's core and range and labelling remained almost completely unchanged for close to the next 50 years. In fact, the flagship age statement is the same today as it was in 1959, a 10-year-old.
Diversification of the core range first began in the 1980s with the introduction of an 18-year-old, later joined by a 15-year-old in the 1990s alongside a variety of cask-finished expressions that demonstrated the distillery's pioneering wood policies. The label design then changed for the first time in 2007 as a new bottle shape was introduced. The 10- and 18-year-old were retained, with the wood finished releases given new names such as Lasanta, Nectar d'Or and Quinta Ruban.
The current core range has been in place since it was relaunched with new label designs in 2022. The previous 10-year-old Original, 12-year-old Lasanta and 14-year-old Quinta Ruban expressions were retained, joined by a new release intended for mixing in cocktails called X.
Current owner
2004-present
1996-2004
1918-1996
Glenmorangie Distillery
A9
Tain
IV19 1PZ
Scotland
Active brands
Single malt