Harrison Ford has made some of the greatest movies of all time. Raiders of the Lost Ark. Star Wars. Air Force One. He's also recently starred as a rage monster called the Red Hulk in Captain America: Brave New World, a film which he said he never felt silly or bad doing.
"That's what the money's for," Ford told Josh Horowitz, channeling a bit of Don Draper. "It's not magic. It's commerce."
Now, at the same time, Ford has been hawking Glenmorangie Scotch whisky in a series of tongue-in-cheek ads, directed by Joel Edgerton. These ads feature Ford in a full-on kilt, doing all sorts of cliché Scottish stuff, with a healthy dose of self-deprecation.
Glenmorangie is not a celebrity-created whisky invented by Ford, however. It's been around since 1703 and is neck-and-neck with The Glenlivet as the oldest Scotch distillery still in business. But, with a new endorsement from Han Solo himself, it's natural that more people might be thinking about picking up a bottle of Glenmorangie over other Scotch brands. But are the current bottles of Glenmorangie—a 12-year-old single malt Scotch whisky—any good? Is there magic in this Scotch or is this just commerce?
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Glenmorangie 'The Original' 12-Year-Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky Review
Mary Britt
Full disclosure, after I wrote about the hilarious ads featuring Ford, Glenmorangie sent me a bottle of the whisky. But, as a hardened entertainment journalist, I've received plenty of free booze in my career and it hasn't ever forced me to give something a good review one way or another. I once trashed a film even though the studio had sent me very high-end Champagne ahead of time.
I'm a Harrison Ford fan, sure. But that doesn't bias me either. If anything, I kind of wanted to give the Glenmorangie bottle a bad review because I knew that Ford is punk rock enough to approve of that kind of thing.
But, in all honesty, this bottle pleasantly surprised me. I tend to think of Scotch as something that's smoky—something that I should only pretend to enjoy. The Glenmorangie is different. In my opinion, it's a date night Scotch.
On a snowy late Sunday afternoon at our home in Maine, my wife and I cracked the bottle open. We tasted floral notes with a hint of fruit—not the sort of Scotch you have with the boys over cigars. It's also not too alcohol-forward, which was pleasant for sipping neat.
As an American with Irish lineage, I'm inclined to a default mode of thinking of all Scotch as "fancy Jameson," and in that department, the Glenmorangie succeeded. But, I can't picture myself sipping Jameson neat with my wife while at home watching the snow. Glenmorangie made a low-rent date feel a bit more civilized. It's smooth in a way you might not expect from a Scotch, and the buzz matches the flavor. You're encouraged to drink it slowly. That's the point.
Harrison Ford's Glenmorangie Scotch Whisky: Final Verdict
Glenmorangie
As much as Glenmorangie is a sipping Scotch, it's also a mixing Scotch. On a different evening, but still with plenty of snow outside, my wife decided to make hot toddies. To us, it was an even better experience than taking it straight—and not just because it warmed us on a cold day. Glenmorangie is already a little bit on the sweet side, so it paired perfectly with syrup, lemon, and cinnamon.
In my opinion, that's the true destiny of this Scotch. It's great for sipping between a few people but probably not the thing you bust out to really impress people who are obsessed with Scotch. But, if you want to create some crowd-pleasing hot toddies with a Scotch that's well above average, this bottle is fantastic.
Just like Han Solo said of the Millennium Falcon, this Scotch may not look like much, but it's got it where it counts. And, similar to the famous starship, it's perhaps even better with a few special modifications. If you want to try yourself, Glenmorangie 'The Original' 12-Year-Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky retails for just $44.
Related: How to Drink Scotch Whisky: Experts Share Their Best Tips
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