Glenmorangie's Signet Is the Single Malt Scotch Whisky to Gift this Season
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below."
Shop Now $219.49, reservebar.com
Welcome to The Esquire Endorsement. Heavily researched. Thoroughly vetted. These picks are the best way to spend your hard-earned cash.
You hit the calendar icon on your phone this time of year and scroll through the days—holiday party after holiday party. Work, friends, family. The only thing more stressful than figuring out what you’re supposed to wear to all these events is figuring out what you’re supposed to bring. You need a gift that feels special and festive, not just any old red that you picked up on your way. A bottle that'll impress.
Well, the gifting experts at Esquire are here to help. Glenmorangie’s delectable Signet Single Malt Scotch Whiskey (with museum-worthy packaging, we might add), is the bottle to gift this December and beyond. Here’s why.
Shop Now $219.49, reservebar.com
It’s simply delicious.
A sip of Signet will extinguish every preconceived notion about scotch being pompous, old-fashioned, and harsh to drink.
Glenmorangie invited me to visit their distillery this November, and out of every dram of whisky that I nosed and tasted—and there were many—I kept coming back for more of the rich, caramel-forward Signet. I was lucky enough to sip on Signet fireside at the ornate Glenmorangie House in the Scottish Highlands, built in the 17th century. But I have since had a glass in my far less grand New York City apartment, and I can attest that this whisky evokes warm, wintery luxury no matter where it is consumed. With notes of warm spice, butterscotch, and espresso, this is the spirit they’ll want two—make that three—fingers of all winter long after a hearty meal with family and friends. It’s a smooth, unique whisky, perfect for pairing with or following dessert.
This bottle will be the star of any bar cart.
Not only is Signet a tasty as hell expression, it looks like a spirit fit for a special occasion. With grand, almost regal packaging—the wooden box is just the slightest bit larger and significantly heavier than any other they’ll have on their cart—there’ll be no doubt (or need to Google) whether or not this is a bottle worth savoring. The elegant black box and bottle are embossed with a golden design found on the Cadboll Stone, an intricately-carved slab which was discovered near the Glenmorangie House in Scotland around 800 AD.
Signet looks like a special occasion spirit because it is. Produced only once a year at the Glenmorangie Distillery, home to the tallest stills in Scotland, Signet is a single malt born of a unique blend of Glenmorangie’s signature malt barley and a high roast chocolate malt. The spirit is then aged in a variety of casks that contribute to the final blend’s sweetness, including bourbon barrels, sherry casks, and virgin charred oak casks. It’s a distinctive expression in the world of scotch whisky, and one that connoisseurs and newcomers alike will delight in.
Shop Now $219.49, reservebar.com
It’s a unique spirit from a historic brand that values creativity.
This whisky is unlike any other because Glenmorangie is not your traditional distillery. The brand’s Director of Whisky Creation, Dr. Bill Lumsden, is constantly experimenting, pushing the limits of what’s possible in the single malt scotch category (a designation which is tightly controlled by the Scotch Whisky Association) with creative expressions like A Tale of Winter, A Tale of the Forest, and Signet. Glenmorangie, established in 1843, also just redesigned its entire lineup of bottles, debuting the modernized updates alongside a strikingly bold and colorful campaign called “It’s kind of delicious and wonderful.”
The aim is to inject a new life, and encourage accessibility to all, into a spirit and brand steeped in tradition. Trust us when we say that a bottle of Signet will not be gathering dust on anyone’s shelf this season.
Photography by Philip Friedman. Prop styling by John Olson for Halley Resources.
You Might Also Like
