Time for some extra Glen Grant

Glen Grant 10 yo (40%, OB, -/+ 2022)
Color: shiny straw. Nostril: pears, gooseberries, apples, common ‘orchard fruit’ vibes and likewise some wee touches of hops, citrus and buttered toast. There’s an total extra fashionable, American oak influenced profile on show right here. However I discover it extraordinarily straightforward and quietly charming, it is simply let down a bit by the 40% (is not the whole lot?). Mouth: yup, 40% is hard nowadays. Similar pretty profile of straightforward sweetness and orchard fruits, solely right here I would add some yellow plums, apricots and honey. However that low energy offers a slight feeling of cardboard as properly, sadly. Nonetheless, this in a pitcher at nearly any time of day can be straightforward and satisfying in my opinion. End: on the quick facet, going in direction of mild fruit teas and golden ales. Some breads and cereals now too. Feedback: it is a fashionable model, fairly a good distance from the fantastic previous distillate monster Glen Grants of yesteryear (keep tuned for a few of them!) nevertheless it’s additionally quiet, humble, straightforward and charmingly un-showy malt whisky.
SGP: 541 – 80 factors.

Glen Grant 15 yo ‘Batch Power’ 1st Version (50%, OB, -/+ 2022)
‘Batch Power’ seems like a really Friday afternoon form of branding resolution. Color: shiny straw. Nostril: tighter, sweeter and extra focussed on golden syrups, baked apples and varied flowers with their pollens. But in addition a bit extra American oak assertiveness too. With water: greener, more energizing, grassier and extra open and playful. Water is your pal right here I would say. Mouth: extra in direction of apples in varied codecs, candy cider, butterscotch and a contact of vanilla icing. Good heft within the mouth however maybe a tiny bit an excessive amount of pepperiness from the oak for my liking. With water: the oak eases off ever so barely which permits these varied fruits and flowers a bit extra elbow room. End: medium, barley sugars, digestive biscuits, pressed flowers and fruit teas. Feedback: it is all very effective, and technically in all probability price a few further factors, however why can we not have a model of the 10yo at this one’s bottling energy? Sooner or later, I might be in control of Glen Grant*, then all these things will get sorted out as soon as and for all! I discover this bottling a bit annoying as a result of I actually need to prefer it greater than I do. Although, as soon as once more, it is a completely straightforward and effective drop.
SGP: 551 – 82 factors.

Glen Grant 1997/2020 (52%, Caora, cask #23806, 225 bottles)
Color: straw. Nostril: contemporary and pure at first with moderately plenty of barley, bailed hay after which hints of fruit scone combine and shortbread. With time a bit extra custardy sweetness from the cask comes via together with wee glass of youthful sauternes. Very straightforward and chic. With water: nonetheless barely cakey and simply candy, a tad extra forest greenery and a bit shoe polish. Mouth: similar vibes! Honeys, pollens, candy wines, a spoonful of custard and a few greener notes of crushed nettles and herbs. With water: a glass of orange Sunny Delight dosed with a shot of previous Benedictine liqueur (is {that a} cocktail already?) additionally some lemon marmalade and fennel seed. End: good size, barely firmer, waxier and extra on pollens, flower honeys and citrons. Feedback: very pretty, straightforward and pure Glen Grant. The epitome and optimistic sweetness in malt whisky I’d say.
SGP: 641 – 87 factors.

Glen Grant 23 yo 1998/2021 (50.4%, Girl Of The Glen, cask #9711, oloroso sherry hogshead end, 307 bottles)
Color: amber. Nostril: richly sherried however you do get the sense it’s a end resulting from all this moderately up entrance jammy sweetness and sticky fruits like plums and damsons. I additionally discover some pretty impressions of flower nectars, pollens and golden syrup. Simple and really inviting. With water: extra advanced now, with natural teas, roots, damp forest vibes and tobaccos. Mouth: a bit drier than anticipated, on walnuts, mushrooms, leaf mulch and bitter darkish chocolate. Straight down the road and really classical. With water: once more it goes extra in direction of dried herbs, roots, tea tree oil, wintergreen and cabinet spices. Fairly punchy now in reality. End: good size, on bitter herbs, black tea, liquorice and a shot of espresso! Feedback: can be attention-grabbing to know the size of the end on this one, it is definitely the case that the sherry had so much to say, however all good issues.
SGP: 561 – 87 factors.

Glen Grant 8 yo (100 proof, Gordon & MacPhail, early Nineteen Seventies)
A bottle I opened for one of many Whisky Present Previous & Uncommon digital tastings earlier this 12 months, themed round ‘bare distillate’. Color: pale white wine. Nostril: a good distance from the present 10 and 15, fairly amazingly so actually. This can be a pure mash up of mineral, sunflower and lamp oils. Additionally strategies of plaster, moist chalk, limestone and white flowers. Additionally an nearly crystalline barley word operating beneath. Totally impeccable distillate. It has that extremely austere, petrolic high quality you usually discover in Cadenhead or SMWS bottlings from the early 90s, solely this has one thing that lots of these ones miss, which is class and depth of physique to the distillate with these paraffin and waxy points. In all probability resulting from previous strategies of manufacturing. With water: linens, camphor, ink and oily toolboxes. Additionally putty and extra white flowers together with vase water and a greener word of crushed flower stems. Mouth: pure and vividly on paraffin, lamp oil, hessians, clay, ointments and heat peppery notes of watercress and mustard powder. Highly effective with out a hint of peat, and as soon as once more the phrase that involves thoughts is class. A real barley eau de vie. With water: waxier in texture and flavour, however nonetheless bone dry, pure and impeccably peppery. A mustardy vibe that nods in direction of previous Banffs. End: lengthy, warming, peppery and with extra paraffin, waxes, hessian and ink. Feedback: a wonderfully austere and bone-dry previous Glen Grant that’s totally in regards to the fantastically constructed distillate. Undecided too many present makes may stand up to this sort of complete publicity at solely 8 years previous. Now, it is also a really quaint model in some methods. A wine nerds whisky, as we regularly say on wee Whiskyfun.
SGP: 362 – 90 factors. 

Glen Grant 15 yo (100 proof, Gordon & MacPhail, UK market, -/+ 1975)
Regardless of this being a UK bottling, some very useful Italian collector has written on the rear label in some unspecified time in the future ‘Collezione 29/01/77’, which is all the time cool to see. I’ve written notes on right here for comparable bottlings by G&M earlier than, however who is aware of what kind of batch variation there was on the time. And naturally, any excuses and so forth… Color: white wine. Nostril: It is actually the 8yo distillate profile simply with double the age in refill wooden. Which suggests it is extra rounded and people barely uncooked, petrolic qualities have rounded into extra seductive waxy tones, honey, wooden resins and camphor. Beautifully mineral, fatty and flinty with pollens, white flowers and bouillon. Simply terrific distillate as soon as once more. With water: clay, pebbles, chalk, flints, carbon paper, ink and dried herbs. Additionally citronella wax and lapsing souchong tea with lemon. Mouth: the age makes fairly a distinction right here, it is extra fruity with plenty of citrus, white stone fruit and sharper inexperienced and unique touches too. Fruit teas, myrtle, olive oil, waxes and white pepper. Fantastic texture, good stability and the identical mixture of energy, purity and sophistication as within the 8yo. With water: the feel is vastly spectacular now, water makes the whole lot fatter, greasier, oilier and extra mouth-coating. Some completely bitter natural notes, a bit saltiness and lots of issues like putty, waxy and shoe polish. End: lengthy, peppery, barely salty and splendidly oily and waxy. Feedback: these batches are form of just like the work horses of G&M from this period, they only really feel easy and moderately like they should not be this good. Would crush most fashionable malt bottlings, primarily as a result of they handle to mix being technically wonderful with a complete heap of soul too.
SGP: 462 – 92 factors.

Glen Grant 10 yo (80 proof, J W Cameron & Co Ltd, Nineteen Fifties)
J W Cameron have been a wine service provider in Hartlepool apparently, with the great sense to have their very own bottling of Glen Grant at 80 proof no much less. Color: pale amber. Nostril: a profile that solely very previous single malts at good bottling energy appear capable of ship. A single, cohesive and totally poetic mixture of medicines, herbs, liqueurs, rooty peat aromas and a pristine, faintly salty previous sherry stuffed with rancio, walnuts and natural teas. Poetic is the phrase, and totally beautiful! Mouth: wonderful freshness and endurance! Gorgeous saltiness, like probably the most attractive, leathery and rancio-laden VORS oloroso. And inside that there is additional notes of leathers, tobaccos and medicinal roots – the total ‘Gentleman’s library’ issue! So many tiny, beautiful wee flavours rising. The very best salty Dutch liquorice, historical yellow Chartreuse, verbena, wormwood, umami broths and my beloved Maggi! I may demolish a Nebuchadnezzar of this earlier than the 12 months is out! End: stunningly lengthy, resinous, salty and even beginning to present some surprisingly unique dried fruity qualities. Extra of those historical medicinal roots, herbs and beautiful previous model peat flavours. Feedback: what number of random previous bottlings of Glen Grant comparable to this one have there been through the years? I think what we find out about is however a fraction, no marvel it was held in such excessive regard as the good single malt by many aficionados within the days earlier than Macallan found advertising. A humble, present stopping wee masterpiece.
SGP: 563 – 94 factors. 

Glen Grant 1959-1960/1986 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail, Marriage of Andrew and Fergie)
Let’s hope this whisky stands up higher than Prince Andrew’s repute… Color: amber. Nostril: gah! I am the final word push-over for this model! Drying, barely salty bodega model funk and earthiness, imbued with damp pipe tobaccos, unlit aged cigars, humidor should, bitter darkish chocolate, inexperienced walnut liqueur and pure rancio! G&M have been simply masters of this sort of profile. Mouth: good stability and class. Dryness from the sherry, together with a bit salinity of salted almonds, tiny notes of paprika, cured recreation meats, leather-based, bouillon, heavy rancio and high-quality darkish chocolate. Additionally wee darker peppery tones, preserved darkish fruits stewed in some previous Armagnac and a wealthy umami vibe. You would add impressions of damp forest petrichor, black miso and soy sauce as properly. It is all occurring right here! I would even add medicinal roots and herbs, previous model chest and throat sweets, wormwood and natural liqueurs. Simply incredible! End: lengthy, brilliantly natural, peppery, stuffed with sticky darkish fruits, cabinet spices comparable to cloves and cinnamon, and this splendidly persistent walnut-infused rancio. Feedback: One other totally seductive and beautiful previous Glen Grant from G&M. Now the queen has departed, may we simply disband the Royal household and re-direct the tax spend into getting Glen Grant again to churning out this sort of juice please? For the great of the nation.
SGP: 662 – 93 factors.

Glen Grant 72 yo 1948/2020 (52.6%, Gordon & MacPhail for Premier Whisky Hong Kong, American oak sherry cask, cask #440, 290 bottles)
Talking of G&M… Color: amber/mahogany. Nostril: concentrated darkish fruits, unique hardwood resins, historical natural liqueurs and lots of, many mixtures of dried unique fruits with equally unique and funky spices. A type of unbelievable profiles that G&M appear to specialize in the place the whisky is concurrently woody and contemporary on the similar time. I like these fruity peppercorn and medicinal wormwood qualities. Additionally this gorgeously mentholated, extraordinarily previous peat aroma coming via beneath the whole lot. With water: only a completely harmonious and endlessly advanced previous Glen Grant – one of many few distillates that may actually shine at nearly any age like this. Mouth: beautiful arrival, full on dried darkish and unique fruits, aged black teas, crystallised honey, fir wooden, resinous previous fruit liqueurs and this marvellously balanced spicy complexity. With water: will get extra sappy, mentholated and these attractive layers of honey, unique fruit liqueurs and dusty previous phenolics simply develop into deeper, louder and denser. Briefly the entire thing goes up a number of notches of complexity and likewise energy. End: good size and beautiful, menthol, natural and phenolic. Wooden resins that develop into a notch extra drying however not extreme, tobaccos, wine cellar mulch and rancio. You would go on 4 hours detailing all of the tiny impressions this retains igniting within the thoughts. Feedback: Does not ‘really feel’ like a 72 12 months previous whisky if I am sincere. However then I am no skilled in 70+ 12 months previous whiskies. What can you actually say? One other great historical malt that we now have to thank G&M for caretaking all these many years. And one other demonstration of the stamina of Glen Grant’s distillate from these years. Let’s hope that when G&M lastly launch a 100 12 months previous it’s going to be a Glen Grant – though, will it’s pretty much as good as that previous J W Cameron 10yo…? 😉 
SGP: 672 – 93 factors.