Glenmorangie’s Harrison Ford Limited Edition
The actor’s single malt whisky is making adventures in the Scottish Highlands
As a carpenter, actor, producer and pilot, Harrison Ford has worn many hats over his long career. Currently, he has traded Indiana Jones’ famous fedora for an item of clothing he has only worn once before. “This is my second time in a kilt,” he says with a chuckle and that irresistible twinkle in his eyes that has made Ford an icon. “I practiced at home.” Ford dons this attire to celebrate the debut of the special edition Glenmorangie single malt he co-created with master distiller Dr. Bill Lumsden.
Early in his career, as Ford drove a 1955 Chevy back and forth on 4th Street in San Rafael, California in “American Graffiti,” he could not fathom the journey he would take from there. “It was half a century ago,” he says. “All I wanted to do was make a living as an actor and I wanted that to be my principal occupation. That’s why I went down that road.”
In a quiet moment before a celebration of his new Glenmorangie whisky at the Sunset Tower Hotel, he reminisced: “I didn’t really have an ambition to have the kind of career that I’ve been lucky enough to have, but I couldn’t have anticipated all the wonderful collaborators that I had a chance to work with, Sydney Pollacks and Mike Nichols, and all the fantastic world-class directors,” he says. “My career is based on them, as much as anything else.”
Now with that spirit of collaboration, Ford has worked with Lumsden to develop a special edition single malt. The project comes to life in a series of videos made with filmmaker Joel Edgerton chronicling a witty take on Ford’s adventures in Scotland. Edgerton captures Ford arriving at a castle where he dreams of lazing around by the fire, sipping whisky. As the team coaxes him out to the distillery, he meets up with the whisky makers and is tempted by the chance to drive a black convertible Jaguar E-Type Eagle Speedster along the picturesque vistas of the Scottish highlands.
Even as the videos reveal Ford’s self-deprecating sense of humor, the pursuit of creating a special-edition whisky with Lumsden was taken on with the utmost of seriousness. Ford, a long time Glenmorangie fan, wanted his bottle to include a bit of an intensity. They embarked on a quest to make a whisky that celebrates Glenmorangie’s smooth elegance while adding what Dr. Bill describes as some oomph and a bit of a bite.
A scientist by training, Lumsden loves experimenting and often lays whisky in barrels without a clear destination. The search for this particular flavor profile led him to a parcel of heavily toasted Portuguese red wine casks from many years ago. The bold notes in these casks, in concert with the classic Glenmorangie, was the golden ticket.
Deeper in color than its flagship whisky, Lumsden describes this special edition as a version of their more classic juicy mandarin orange, revealing notes of bittersweet Seville orange with candied citrus peel. He tastes tangy breakfast marmalade, a bit of cooling mint or menthol and some gentle spices like sweet chili or cumin.
While Ford was in Scotland, not only did he recruit the distillery team to join him in the videos, but he experienced first hand the craftsmanship required throughout the distilling process. He felt a synergy with the whisky makers, whose devotion to the craft reminded him of his years working as a carpenter. “I think they recognize that I had some working man characteristics, and that I was a craftsman, as well as they are,” says Ford. “They were the most charming people, the people that work at the distillery and at other levels of the organization. I came to believe that all Scots are that friendly and nice.”
As to why scotch whisky over any other spirit, Ford eyes twinkle. “I like the taste of it. It feels right in my mouth,” he says. “I like a little aggression, a little intensity at first, so you know you’re drinking whiskey, but it changes quickly in your mouth. It’s a sensual experience. I don’t know if I have exactly the right words or if they translate from one person to another. Leather might mean something different to you than it does to me.”
Ford grew up in a house where his father drank Scotch. He started drinking scotch around age 30, quickly learning that he preferred single malts. After trying so many over the years, he calls this hands-on opportunity to co-create a whiskey with Lumsden a remarkable experience. With a dram in hand, he toasts his collaborators and takes a sip. Ford adds his own tasting notes: “It’s nice, very nice!”
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