Glenmorangie has announced its very first on-site innovation distillery; Lighthouse will be a playground, dedicated to single malt experimentation. Conceived to bring extraordinary ideas to life, here the creative team can let their imaginations run wild in the pursuit of fine and unique whisky.
Providing a new home for imagination
The 20m-high glass lighthouse is a new beacon-like landmark on Glenmorangie’s 140-year-old site. Designed by Paris-based Barthe?le?my Grin?o Architects, it looks out across the Dornoch Firth and provides increased flexibility at all stages of whisky-making, enabling unparalleled experimentation resulting in a fuller character variance. Lighthouse’s design is geared to taste, rather than quantity of production.
Thomas Moradpour, President and CEO of The Glenmorangie Company, said of the new launch: “Global demand for Glenmorangie is growing significantly. The first of its kind, our Lighthouse experimental distillery is the keystone of our plans to stay at the forefront of taste innovation. By giving our talented creative team free rein, we will welcome even more consumers worldwide to enjoy delicious whiskies.”
A lighthouse, a brewhouse and a sensory laboratory
The multi-million-pound Lighthouse is equipped with two of the stills which enable Glenmorangie’s gentle, fruity spirit. But the new versions of the giraffe-high stills have been modified, allowing them to alter the spirit’s character by acting as if they were shorter or even taller. Meanwhile, a stone brewhouse building sets the scene for experiments with barley, water and yeast during mashing and brewing. And finally, there’s a sensory laboratory, where evolving liquors can be studied and played with.
A kaleidoscope of delicious new flavours
Five key ingredients – wood, water, barley, yeast and time – have been used to create the brand’s single malt whiskies over the past 175 years. Glenmorangie has been pushing boundaries for decades; from pioneering wood finishing to Glenmorangie Signet’s mocha flavours and the exciting Private Edition series. Director of Whisky Creation, Dr Bill Lumsden, has an ethos of experimentation and passion for dreaming up the most delicious whiskies. He says:
“Our Lighthouse is the new home of imagination. Here, we’ll indulge our most fantastical ideas as we strive to create a whole array of different flavours. We will play with raw ingredients and make small adjustments and big changes in ways never tried before. Nothing is off-limits, as long as it’s delicious.”
Read our review of Glenmorangie House
To celebrate the occasion, 3,000 limited edition bottles of a soft and fruity whisky, Glenmorangie Lighthouse, are being released. Created with bourbon and sherry casks now encased in the Lighthouse’s walls, the spirit has been aged 12 years. These can be purchased exclusively via the distillery for an RRP of £85.
