The distillery was founded in 1843 by William and Anne Matheson, who converted a former brewery into a whisky distillery in this remote part of Scotland. The name Glenmorangie comes from Gaelic and means valley of tranquillity. Throughout the 20th century, the distillery proved pioneering in many respects, skilfully balancing tradition and innovation. It began selling single malts as early as the 1920s, exporting its bottlings worldwide, expanded production even during the downturn of the 1980s, and launched dedicated research programmes into oak maturation – notably for its Wood Finishes range. In 2004, after more than 80 years at the helm, the Macdonald family sold a majority stake in Glenmorangie PLC (52%) to the global luxury group LVMH.
Today, the celebrated ‘Men of Tain’ continue to craft the house style, distilling in Scotland’s tallest stills (5.14 metres high) before maturing the spirit in oak barrels.
In 2022, Edward Thom was named Global Distillery Manager of the Year at the prestigious Whisky Magazine Icons of Whisky Awards.

A Glenmorangie Ealante—Gaelic for “skilled and ingenious”—a 19 year old distilled in 1993 and bottled in 2012. This is the fourth edition of the Glenmorangie Private Edition range. Aged entirely in new American oak casks. The oak was sourced from the Mark Twain forest in Missouri, the author’’s home town and the setting of many of his books. After slow growth, the trees from the north flank of the forest are left to dry in the open air for two years. The casks are built according to Glenmorangie’’s specifications, in this case with heavy toasting. Glenmorangie and its master distiller Dr Bill Lumsden love these sort of experiments. The trees were chosen by Lumsden in the 1990s when he visited the Ozark Mountains.