For seven year in a row with no end in sight, Glenmorangie presents us a new expression in the Private Edition series. 2016 brought us Glenmorangie Milsean (pronounced “mill-shun”) which means “Sweet Things” in Gaelic.

So it marks the returning to the previous theme of special cask finishes after the detour of Tùsail last year which focused on different barley. It was finished for 2.5 years in toasted ex-Portuguese red wine barriques (154 of those) and should bring out a candies shop feeling. If you want to learn more on this whisky, head up to the excellent and very detailed blog post at The Whisky Exchange.

Glenmorangie Milsean (Private Edition VII) (46%, £75.95/€89,00)

Nose: Ah, it’s very Glenmorangie at first with sweet honey, butterscotch, toffee, nutty with a dash of vanilla. Then come the sweet candied fruit, berries and tangerines, dry tannins and spice, sweet deep red hard candies (lollipops), bitter citrus peels. It’s tarty and jammy, even has a resemblance of roughness on the edge. Getting sweeter over time while maintaining the sweet candies feel.

Palate: Nutty butterscotch with bitterness turning to sweet and dry berries, candied fruit, spicy with lots of ginger along with some pepper and oak spices, earthy berries tart.

Finish: Short-Medium length sweet finish with spiciness (oak spices, ginger) and dryness.

Thoughts: Finally an interesting Glenmorangie! I didn’t feel like that since having the Finealta. All those releases in the last few years were ranging between boring to slightly above average good basic Glenmorangie profile (with Companta a bit over winey), but this time it’s well balanced with Glenmornagie character and the cheeky influence of those Portuguese red wine casks.

(Official sample provided by Glenmorangie)