When Harrison Ford Asked Glenmorangie for More Bite

Harrison Ford had just tasted his way through six cask strength Glenmorangie whiskies when he turned to Dr. Bill Lumsden with a request. The Highland distillery may have been known for its elegant, soft, and citrus-forward scotches, but Ford wanted something more. “Bill,” the actor told Glenmorangie’s director of whisky creation, “I love these, but I’d like something with a bit more bite.” For Lumsden, that challenge became the guiding principle behind Glenmorangie x Harrison Ford, a limited-edition single malt whisky co-directed by Ford, and the result of months of recipe development, cask strength tastings, and spirited discussions stretching from the Scottish Highlands to Los Angeles.

Over the course of a distinguished career, Ford has portrayed some of cinema’s most enduring characters: Indiana Jones, Han Solo, Rick Deckard, Jack Ryan, and Dr. Richard Kimble, alongside acclaimed television performances as Jacob Dutton in Yellowstone prequel “1923” and Dr. Paul Rhoades in “Shrinking.” The legendary actor is a long-time whisky connoisseur and was already familiar with Glenmorangie before this collaboration. Ford first connected with the distillery while filming Glenmorangie’s cinematic Once Upon a Time in Scotland campaign, directed by Joel Edgerton, that launched in 2025. Lumsden and master blender Gillian MacDonald prepared hundreds of Glenmorangie samples before meeting the star as the cameras started rolling. After the first day of filming, the pair began developing various recipes for what would ultimately become the Harrison Ford edition. “The climax for us was when we sat down with Harrison at the end of the week in the Glenmorangie stillhouse, surrounded by the beautiful, tall stills, after most of the filming had been done,” Lumsden recalls. “We took him through a tasting of whiskies which we felt he might like.” What began as a brand collaboration quickly evolved into something more hands-on. As Lumsden and Macdonald, with Ford’s input, narrowed it down to three final contenders, they realized that Ford wasn’t simply endorsing their whisky; he genuinely understood and appreciated it. But then he threw down the gauntlet. Lumsden says, “I’ve always had this feeling that Glenmorangie is approachable, but challenging at the same time. Trying to take the smooth elegance of Glenmorangie and giving it bite—that really was quite a challenge.”

It also stirred an older memory for Lumsden: Glenmorangie Vintage 1977. “It was one of the first vintages I launched as master distiller, and it had that beautiful St. Clements and grapefruit bite to it,” he says. “So, when Harrison asked for a bit more bite, my mind immediately jumped back to that.” Lumsden and Macdonald dug deep into experimental stocks they had laid down years earlier, selecting casks “tucked away for a rainy day,” as Lumsden describes them. The breakthrough came by combining stocks of classic Glenmorangie matured in bourbon barrels with a parcel of Glenmorangie finished in heavily toasted Portuguese red wine casks, whose tangy character would offer exactly the kind of assertiveness Ford had requested. Glenmorangie had never used these particular wine casks in quite this way before, but think of it as a close relative to Glenmorangie Milsean, released in 2016 as part of the Private Edition series. Lumsden discloses that the Harrison Ford recipe also includes mature stocks of aged Glenmorangie, giving extra depth and complexity to the whisky. Prototype samples were shipped back and forth to Ford in Los Angeles as the whisky recipe continued to evolve through email exchanges, with Lumsden even receiving an unexpected phone call from Hollywood. “I was leaving the office in Edinburgh one sunny afternoon, and my phone rang,” says Lumsden. He picked up, only to hear that unmistakable, deep, gravelly voice on the other end of the line; “‘Dr. Bill, …it’s Harrison.’”

Lumsden regards citrus as one of the signature flavors that spans the entire Glenmorangie range. Memorably, Glenmorangie rhymes with orangey; Ford’s mispronunciation of the distillery name is a deliberate running gag throughout the mini-series, though it’s a real-life issue for the brand. For Glenmorangie x Harrison Ford, Lumsden says, “The beautiful citrus fruit on the nose makes this recognizably Glenmorangie, but it’s unlike the lemon or mandarin orange notes in Glenmorangie The Original or the satsuma flavors in Glenmorangie 18 year old. This is like grapefruit breakfast marmalade—that’s where the bite starts to come in. This isn’t mandarin orange,” he remarks between sips, “this is bittersweet Seville orange. While [Glenmorangie] The Original is smooth and easy-drinking, this has a little bit of oomph to it. That’s the juxtaposition of trying to make something that is both classic Glenmorangie and something that puts a big smile on Harrison Ford’s face.” Getting technical, Lumsden hypothesizes that the bite likely comes from citrus fruit characteristics in the flavor congeners created during distillation, which interact with compounds in the wood extractives coming from the casks during maturation.

Harrison Ford’s namesake limited edition whisky is non-chill filtered, bottled at 46.5%, and has a suggested retail price of $100. To celebrate the launch, a new episode of Once Upon a Time in Scotland, The Epilogue, was filmed in the actor’s home state of Wyoming, showing Harrison Ford wearing his kilt, reminiscing about his time at Glenmorangie Distillery, and finally getting his wish to sit in that cozy chair by a warm fire and sip whisky. And Ford’s final verdict? Characteristically understated. “It’s nice,” he says after tasting it on camera. Then, after a pause: “It’s very nice.”

What Does Glenmorangie x Harrison Ford Taste Like?

93 points - Glenmorangie X Harrison Ford Highland single malt scotch

ABV: 46.5%
SRP: $100
Availability: Limited release

This rebellious Glenmorangie has bite thanks to whisky finished in toasted Portuguese red wine casks. The nose raids the senses with ruby grapefruit, orange oils, perfumed florals, dried stone fruits, rose Turkish Delight, tart cranberry, and marzipan. Grapefruit marmalade flavors crack the whip with thick peel, sweet orange, pepper, aniseed, and menthol lozenges, leaving a mouth-coating finish like tears in rain, with citrus oils, brown sugar sweetness, and supple oak.