Glenmorangie invites fans to name their winning whisky  

— Crowdsourcing venture is part of Glenmorangie’s Cask Masters programme which gives enthusiasts the chance to help shape a new whisky — 

Glenmorangie is asking whisky enthusiasts to choose the name of a new single malt whisky through online voting – a first for the industry.

The crowdsourcing venture is part of Glenmorangie’s unique Cask Masters whisky creation programme which was launched in March 2013 with consumers being asked to choose their preferred dram from three specially selected casks released by Dr Bill Lumsden, Glenmorangie’s celebrated Director of Distilling and Whisky Creation.

Tens of thousands of whisky lovers across the world have cast their vote and their favourite malt can now be revealed as Cask C, which has spent a number of years extra-maturing in exclusive Manzanilla casks.

Stage two of the process kicked off on 1 August with the aim of crowdsourcing the perfect name for this new limited edition single malt.

Inspired by the tasting notes of the whisky and the provenance of the casks, consumers will submit suggestions online for a name that will best capture its spirit.

The Cask Masters programme is being overseen by Glenmorangie’s Dr Bill Lumsden, together with an expert in every field of the five-step process.

Glenmorangie has a long tradition of taking inspiration from the Gaelic language when naming its whiskies and the expert overseeing the naming stage is Dr Aonghas Maccoinnich, a teaching fellow in Celtic and Gaelic at the University of Glasgow.

Dr Maccoinnich will select his preferred three names from all those submitted and translate them into Gaelic. It is from the Gaelic names that the public then have the opportunity to vote and decide on the final name which will be announced on 16 September.

The Cask Masters online programme was launched on March 1 and will run for 18 months with the new limited edition Glenmorangie single malt ready for release in the autumn of 2014. Anyone can take part by logging on to www.glenmorangie.com/caskmasters

Dr Bill Lumsden, Director of Distilling and Whisky Creation at the Glenmorangie Company, said: “We’re creating history at Glenmorangie by giving fans the chance to decide the name of our next limited edition single malt whisky. What could be more special for a whisky enthusiast than to savour a dram of their own design, whose very name comes from their own imagination?

“We now want whisky enthusiasts to be inspired and bring our new cask to life with a name that will resonate. At Glenmorangie, the Gaelic language has already given us some beautiful names to match our beautiful whiskies, so this is exciting for us.”

Dr Aonghas Maccoinnich, who grew up speaking Gaelic as a first language on the isle of Lewis, said, “I’m very pleased to be part of this remarkably democratic whisky naming process. I’m sure that there will be some great names coming in from all over the world and it will be a tough job to pick out the best three.”

NOTES:

Glenmorangie has already taken inspiration from Gaelic with the name of some of its most famous creations. For example Glenmorangie itself means ‘Glen of Tranquillity,’ while within our exclusive Private Edition range of whiskies, we have selected names to reflect each expression, with Artein meaning ‘Stone,’ and Finealta meaning ‘Elegant.’

At the later stages of the Cask Masters programme experts will also offer their guidance on the photography, packaging and launch suggestions received from whisky fans.

At each stage participants will also be able to win prestigious prizes including a VIP visit to the Glenmorangie Distillery and a trip to the country of origin of the oak cask in which the winning whisky has been matured. 

About Glenmorangie:

Glenmorangie Single Malt Scotch Whisky originates in the Scottish Highlands where, at the Glenmorangie Distillery, it is distilled in the tallest malt whisky stills in Scotland, expertly matured in the finest oak casks, and perfected by the Men of Tain. The Distillery was founded in 1843 and is renowned as a pioneer in its field uniting tradition with innovation to create ‘unnecessarily well made whiskies.’

Responsible Drinking:

The Glenmorangie Company advocates responsible drinking and suggests that drinkers savour Glenmorangie whiskies in moderation and in line with recommended daily guidelines for alcohol consumption.

For more details: www.glenmorangie.com/caskmasters or Twitter: @theglenmorangie

About Dr Aonghas Maccoinnich:

Aonghas Maccoinnich is a native of the Isle of Lewis and grew up in a Gaelic-speaking community. Whilst taking a PhD at the University of Aberdeen he wrote a thesis on the Mackenzie clan in the Ross area, in the north of Scotland, (1466-1638) entirely in Gaelic – the first history thesis at Aberdeen written in that language. He worked as a Gaelic tutor and lecturer at the University of Glasgow (2005-2010) and a teacher in the history of the Scottish Highlands at the University of Strathclyde (2010-2012). He is currently a teaching fellow in the Celtic & Gaelic subject area in the school of Humanities at the University of Glasgow.