I love events where you get to try something new so when I got an invite to the Glenmorangie tasting at Villa Rosa Kempinski I was excited. The event was hosted by the Glenmorangie Global Brand Ambassador, Hamish Torie who was visiting Kenya. The event was a chance for Hamish Torrie to met with bloggers and single malt lovers.
We were having some Glenmorangie Single Malt Scotch Whisky which originated in the Scottish Highlands from the Glenmorangie Distillery founded in 1843. The whisky is distilled in the tallest malt whisky stills in Scotland for a pure and fragrant spirit, expertly matured in the finest oak casks for great depth. Glenmorangie has been voted Master Distiller of the Year by the International Wines & Spirits Council twice in a row which goes to show the quality of the whisky.
Mr. Hamish Torie took the time to do some whisky tasting with us and tell us more about the Glenmorangie Whisky. He said, “For Glenmorangie single malt we see Kenya as the lead country in the region where the growth opportunity is very exciting – Kenya has the potential to be our lighthouse market in East Africa” He also said he was impressed by the knowledge and enthusiasm Kenyans have for single malt whisky and Glenmorangie in particular.
We were paring different things with different things. For the first course, we had Caprese con Mozzarella and Mediterranean seafood bisque which was paired with Glenmorangie The Original. The 10-year-old single malt Glenmorangie Original is the original whisky which is matured in American oak casks. and has vanilla notes and a fruity finish. This went very well with the Mediterranean seafood bisque which I was having.
For the main course, I had the beef tenderloin with green peppercorn and marsala wine cream sauce. This was paired with the Glenmorangie Lasanta which is a 12-year-old single malt matured for 10 years in American white oak bourbon casks before and then for a further 2 years in Oloroso and PX Sherry casks from Jerez in Spain. The Lasanta is a bit stronger than the original. It has notes of sultanas, walnuts, butterscotch, spiced orange and chocolate. It was the perfect compliment to the beef.
Everybody agreed that the Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban was the best of the best. The extra matured Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban has spent 10 years maturing in American white oak casks, before being transferred into specially selected ruby port pipes from the Quintas or wine estates of Portugal. It tastes of dark chocolate, walnuts, orange, nutmeg and raisins. It paired well with the Italian traditional tiramisu, which balanced out the strong flavour of this whiskey. It is a very smooth whiskey which would make it a favourite for whiskey lovers.
We had a good time learning about whisky and also getting to see why Glenmorangie whisky is loved all over the world.
