Julia Child famously remarked “A party without cake is just a meeting”.
She’s right, you know. Dessert is just dessert, but cake is a celebration. Birthdays, weddings, all the most joyous occasions in out lives are marked with a cake.
It was this idea that inspired Dr. Bill Lumsden to create Glenmorangie’s latest expression, “A Tale of Cake”, released on September 22nd, 2020. In his words “some of my most joyous memories are from eating cake”. In particular, Dr. Bill had thoughts of baking with his grandmother and a pineapple upside down cake that his daughter made for his birthday when he set out to create a whisky reminiscent of cake.
But how does one capture the spirit of cake in a whisky? If you’re Glenmorangie, there’s a good chance that the answer is “cask finishing”. Dr. Bill has been a pioneer and leader in the area of extracting flavor by aging whisky in barrels that have previously held other spirits or wines. This time he turned to Tokaji barrels, those which had been used to age the sweet desert wines of the Tokaj region of Hungary. As usual, he was successful.
I’ve seen a lot of misconception in online comments, more so than with most whiskies. So to set the record straight, this is NOT a flavored whisky. This is a single malt Scotch, so by law, it cannot contain any added colors besides flavor-neutral E150 caramel coloring, and no added flavors. All of the flavors come from fermentation, distillation, and maturation (aging).
This is very limited release. It took some legwork, and a bit of luck to track down a bottle. If you’re a fan of sweeter whiskies, and you come across this, it is worth picking up.
The color in the glass is a dark gold. I got the impression that it had a stronger tint of yellow than most, maybe from the Tokaji casks. It could be my imagination, but I’ve seen a definite red tint in some port cask finished whiskies, so maybe it really is there.
The first impression of the aroma is that it is warm and sweet. That sweetness comes in the form of honey and sugar. Digging a little deeper, you’ll find hints of dried stone fruit, like apricot or peach, and a trace of pineapple. Overall the aroma gives the impression of walking into a cupcake bakery, in the same way that the Allta feels like walking into a bread bakery.
On the palate it is once again sweet. The typical Glenmorangie citrus is present, but takes a back seat to stone fruit. The sweetness takes the form of a sugary frosting or glazed donut. Notes of tropical fruit like pineapple and passionfruit emerge towards the end. The finish is medium, with a lingering warmth and sweetness.
I don’t usually venture into the realm of food pairing, but in this case I couldn’t resist. I didn’t have time to bake, so I set off to the store in search of something appropriate. The original inspiration was a pineapple upside down cake, but I couldn’t find one. I settled on a slice of Louisiana Crunch Cake, and a scoop of Pineapple Coconut Ice Cream. It was a perfect match. I alternated between bites of just cake, just ice cream, or both, and sips of whisky. Every bite improved the next sip, and every sip enhanced the next bite. If you’re doing a whisky dinner, and struggling with the dessert course, pairing the right treat with this latest offering from Glenmorangie is sure to impress.
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