The darkest and most intense whisky in the extra-matured range, 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.
Extra maturation in these port pipes develops GlenmorangieQuinta Ruban into a voluptuous spirit with a complex balance of sweet and dry flavours and an intriguing contrast of smooth and crisp, cooling textures. Non chill-filtered for additional aroma and mouthfeel.
NOSE
Dark mint chocolate, tangerines and Seville oranges mingle with sandalwood and walnut before giving way to a spicy finish of pepper and nutmeg.
TASTE
Mint chocolate and walnuts envelop the palate like velvet, laying the foundations for rose, Turkish delight and sweet Seville oranges.
FINISH
Long lasting silky aftertaste leaving dark chocolate mints and traces of orange.
Review from our old website dated April 2020
This is the first Limited or Special bottle review.
These are bottles which have either been stopped by the distillery or were special/Limited number releases.
In this case Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban 12 Year Old, which has been superceeded by the 14 year old offering. It is still available in limited places such as specialist retailers or smaller online stores. It has an average retail price of £45.95
This coastal Highland distillery is located near the town of Tain on the Dornoch Firth which is the estuary to the Kyle of Sutherland River.
The Quinta Ruban started its first 10 years in American White Oak ex-Bourbon casks, then a further 2 years in port barrels from Quintas in Portugal. It is bottled at 46% abv, is non chill filtered and we suspect is natural colour, its a has a pink tinge from the port, so we suspect it has no colour, but it isnt mentioned on their website.
We give it a value score of 96.17, we should dock it points for no mention of colour, but that would be mean.
On the nose it is clearly fruity of which berries present, there is mint and maybe a dark chocolate. Spice is evident, possibibly cinnamon. The alcohol is noticable if you want to smell it. Its a lovely purfumed nose.
On the palate, it is fruit sweet, but not too sweet. Spice again is very evident, as is chocolate and some form of waxy nut which blends. Fruitcake, Turkish Delight (Rose Water) and some citrus notes tingle the palate before it moves to spicy, drying bitter finish. There is a slight artificial sweetness on the very end of the finish.
We enjoy this whisky very much, while it is no longer available, it lives on in the 14 year old version. We give this an overall score of 88/100, its one of the best Port Finished whiskies we have tried so far.
Try pairing this whisky with food, for example, Dark Chocolate works well. With the Quinta Ruban, you are rewarded with maraschino cherries presenting themselves giving a lovely desert experience. Another pairing to try would cheese, such as a blue cheese like Stilton.
Link to our YouTube Review https://youtu.be/7KMiaptAUmA