Glenmorangie “A Tale of Cake”

Glenmorangie A Tale of Cake chilling in the grass…

Glenmorangie A Tale of Cake is the second “A Tale of…” Limited Edition series release that I will review, but the first that was released chronologically .  

Cake is a NAS whisky that was finished in the “finest” Tokaji dessert wine casks.  Tokaji apparently is a sweet Hungarian wine made from white grapes which undergo noble rot (Botrytis) that concentrates the sugar.  Anyways, went a little deep down the Wikipedia rabbit hole…but most think this is the normal 10 year old finished wine casks, but the Winter release, while not marketing this on its bottle, stated it was a 13 year old on the website.  So who knows…

ABV: 46%

How it smells…Pastry shop, cherry, ginger snap cookies

How it tastes…Mild sweetness up front followed by orange and spicy ginger and ending in nutty flavors.  The finish is sweeter with honey some nutty bitterness and a bit of peppery spice on the linger.

Price...I picked up this bottle for $110 (but see it between $100-$115).

Rating...🥃🥃🥃

Final thoughts…I like it, but I think this is an instance where the name hurts more than helps.  You get a name like “A Tale of Cake” and you set certain expectations.  I understand that Glenmorangie wants to connect the Tokaji dessert wine finish to the product but this may be an example of where the marketing people took over and led the product astray.  It’s pleasant enough up front with some bitterness towards the end, but where Winter was more astringent bitterness, this is a bit more nutty and more pleasant.  If I was as well versed in British baking shows as my wife, I may be able to come up with some baked goods or other desserts that have a resemblance to this sip, but cake isn’t one of them.  

Rating value on this is difficult as it’s a limited release and it provides an opportunity to try a new type of wine cask finishing (Tokaji), so that tends to have a bit of a premium pricing. That said, while it was a pleasant and enjoyable sip, I wasn’t in love with it.  I’m going to rate it at 3x 🥃 because I’m a sucker sometimes…if this was $20 cheaper, then it might be a 4x 🥃.  I do like it a lot better than the Winter (I rated Winter at 2x 🥃), which I thought completely missed on both the name but on the underlying whisky as well.  With a lackluster start to the “A Tale of….” series, I do not think I will be participating in other releases, at least not on my own dime.