Last Monday and Tuesday, I had the supreme privilege of attending two nights at the Glenmorangie pop-up House on Little W12th Street in NYC. To say they were the greatest two nights of Whisky tasting I've ever attended is a massive understatment. To say they were life-changing might sound a bit ridiculous, but believe me, it's totally the truth.

Thanks to the Baddish Group for graciously inviting me to experience this most magnificent of Whisky tastings.

NIGHT ONE

The minute I entered the room, I was greeted with these four lovely bottles from the Core Range: Glenmorangie Original, Lasanta Sherry Cask Finish, Quinta Ruran, and Nectar D'or. I was at liberty to taste them along with a couple of delicious cocktails made with Glenmorangie Original.

The busy busy bar, with busy busy bartenders who made our fabulous drinks and deftly poured our Whisky into rocks glasses with just the right amount of ice: one cube. Brilliant.

On the opposite end of the room, was a curious bottle illuminated by light and sitting in a wooden alcove. What was this beautiful thing?

And there it was again! I felt as though I was being drawn in by a force greater than my own willpower!

Signet!

SIGNET!

Now, at this point you may be thinking, "Home Bar Gurrrrrl, calm down. It couldn't have been that overwhelming." Except that it totally was!

Glenmorangie Signet tasting notes:

• Nose: grains, barley, chocolate, vanilla, orange peel, spices
• Mouth: silky as hell, legs for days, caramel, dry grasses, dry. Viscosity is almost chewable but dissipates nicely.
• Finish: dry, long, grassy, green quality
• Drop an ice cube in there and a whole briney set of flavours come out. A bit of sulfure, rubber(?) Seaweed

Kind of unbelievable right? I thought so! This has definitely moved to my top spot for Whisky. I loooooove Signet.

There were also the Glenmorangie 18 & 25 Year available for tasting. Each was completely excellent in its own right.

Some badly needed snacks.

Another note on these killer lamps, this was definitely the coolest pop-up I've ever seen. All of the decor had a mid-century/Mad Men vibe that I was digging for real. Some day, SOME DAY, I'm going to have a lamp as cool as this and drink Glenmorangie Signet whilst I read a good book.

NIGHT TWO

To say that the second night was anything short of miraculous would be a total lie.

Late in the afternoon on Tuesday, and while nursing a hangover from Night One, I got a call from Laura Baddish (Queen of the Baddish Group), asking if I would like to return to the Glenmorangie House that night for a special tasting. Of course I said "Yes!" (despite the hangover), ate a large meal, drank as many glasses of water as I could, took a shower, and headed back out.

What awaited me was undoubtedly the greatest set of flavours to ever come out of a bottle.

GLENMORANGIE WHISKY FROM THE 1970S!

Let that sink in for a minute. I got to taste Whisky that was created 40ish years ago. I myself was only created 34 years ago; the liquid in these bottles is older than I am!

Not only was I able to taste these ultra-rare bottles, Dr. Bill Lumsden, Master Distillery at Glenmorangie and Ardbeg, and the most entertaining story teller ever, was personally giving the tasting. The Whiskies were paired with very light bites which were meant to accentuate the flavours in each glass.

The story of these Whiskies from the 1970s according to Dr. Bill, is as follows. When Glenmorangie moved their Warehouse to Edinburgh, Dr. Bill was sniffing around the old place, checking through discarded boxes and such, when he came upon something odd. There were several boxes that contained old unopened, unmarked bottles. He pulled the bottles out and read the codes on the bottom of each one. Perplexed, he cracked one of the bottles open and tasted it. Then it hit him, these bottles were all from the 1970s.

Rather than giving a play by play of each one, I would like to describe what it was like to take in these Whiskies as a group, because that is how this tasting was presented. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to drink liquids that will never exist again once all of us lucky humans have drunk them down. We were ready for our Whisky!

They were, to put it mildly, "strange". Not quite what you were expecting me to say eh? But "strange" is precisely what they should have been, and by strange I mean, "Unlike what I was expecting and unlike what Whisky tastes like in 2015."

For starters, both the 1975 Red label in the photo prior and the 1975 Yellow label in the photo above were aged or finished in French WINE casks. Not Sherry. Wine! Which is excellent because Dr. Bill is totally a wine guy. He gushed about his favourite wines on more than one occasion throughout the night (Domaine de la Romanee-Conti). To hear his enthusiasm about Wine-aged Scotch Whisky was infectious and to smell these "strange" flavours in my little glass was THRILLING. These Whiskies almost came out feeling more like Cognac, or like I was drinking a dry French Wine rather than a spirit made from grains.

By the time we got to our last tasting, the 1977 bottle, Dr. Bill asked us which Whisky was our favourite. Mine had been the 1975 Yellow Label (French White Wine barrel) but quickly changed to the 1977 because look at the colour. SO LIGHT! At the time it was originally bottled, this Whisky was already 28 years old, yet somehow did not take very much colour, flavour, or smell from the wood. It was bright, citrusy, floral, apple. There was salinity! Not just brine, actual salinity! It was really herbal, like an herbal tea, like I was actually smelling tea leaves. The texture was wide, elegant, and full of finesse, as if the Whisky itself was trying to caress the inside of my mouth.

How on earth was that possible after so many years? How could anything so old, be so fresh, vibrant, and full of citrus?

That's when it hit me: I have a hell of a lot to learn about Whisky.

Dani DeLuna is a freelance Spirits writer who spends most of her time at HomeBarGirl.com where she makes fabulous of cocktails.