Glenmorangie Finealta Private Edition Single Malt Scotch Whisky 750ml

Glenmorangie Finealta Private Edition Single Malt Scotch Whisky is a 92 proof (46% ABV) Highland single malt released in 2011 as the second bottling in Glenmorangie's acclaimed Private Edition series. Created under Dr. Bill Lumsden, the distillery's celebrated head of whisky creation, Finealta recreates a Glenmorangie recipe from around 1903 that was rediscovered in the distillery's archives, making this 750ml limited release a drinkable piece of whisky history from Tain, Ross-shire.

Finealta, Scots Gaelic for elegant, is unusual in the modern Glenmorangie canon because it is made with lightly peated barley, echoing the early twentieth century era when the distillery's malt would have carried a whisper of smoke. Following the 1903 notes, the spirit was matured in American white oak ex-bourbon casks together with Spanish Oloroso sherry casks, then bottled without chill filtration to preserve a full body and natural texture, a level of care befitting a whisky once served at the American Bar of London's Savoy hotel.

In the glass, Finealta shows Glenmorangie's signature elegance shaded with antique smoke: mandarin and lime brightness, hints of cherry brandy from the sherry wood, and a spiced palate of nutmeg and ginger, with soft peat drifting underneath rather than dominating. The 46% strength gives it presence without heat. It is a fascinating counterpoint to the distillery's unpeated Original, showing how the same tall stills read when history is allowed back into the recipe.

The Private Edition series became one of the most collected annual programs in single malt whisky, and Finealta occupies a singular place in it as the only peated, archive-recipe entry, discontinued once its run sold through. For collectors of Glenmorangie or of the Private Edition sequence, this is an essential bottle; for drinkers, it is a rare chance to taste what a great Highland malt plausibly tasted like more than a century ago, at a strength and presentation the originals never enjoyed.

• Size: 750ml
• Proof: 92 (46% ABV)
• Age: No age statement
• Origin: Highlands, Scotland
• Distillery: Glenmorangie Distillery, Tain, Ross-shire
• Type: Single malt Scotch whisky, lightly peated
• Cask: American white oak ex-bourbon and Spanish Oloroso sherry casks
• Series: Private Edition No. 2 (2011)
• Production: Non-chill-filtered; recreation of a circa-1903 archive recipe
• Tasting Notes: Mandarin, lime, cherry brandy, nutmeg and ginger spice, subtle peat smoke