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.

This edition launched in 2002 was matured for twelve years—as indicated on bottles for the American market—including one year’’s finishing in Burgundy wine casks. It reflects the distillery’’s work on original maturations spearheaded by Bill Lumsden, who ran the distillery from 1995 to 1998 and then took charge of new editions for The Glenmorangie Company as a whole, including its Glenmorangie and Ardbeg distilleries. Glenmorangie Finish was the last edition in a series launched with the Port Wood Finish in 1994, followed by the Sherry and Madeira Wood Finish in 1996. It was replaced by a new range in 2007 that included new versions of the port and sherry finish, released respectively as The Lasanta and The Quinta Ruban.