January 6, 2015

A hotchpotch of Glen Grant

A few Glen Grants can’t do any harm. Let’s start with a little aperitif, as we often do…

Glen Grant 12 yo (43%, OB, +/-1980)

It’s one the old square bottles. Colour: pale gold. Nose: dry and light, with a little cardboard and burnt wood, then overripe apples aplenty. Something slightly metallic, maybe something musty as well… And very faint whiffs of stale turpentine, or something like that. Largely uninspiring. Mouth: a little flat again, starting with quite some mint and other spicy herbs, some dried tea, a little leather, and that’s more or less all. Not much development I’m afraid, we’re far from a glorious old bottle. Weak body. Finish: short and flat. Comments: either it’s partly gone, or it was like this when it was bottled, which I doubt. Some parts remain ‘okay’. SGP:341 - 65 points.

While we’re having old ones…

Glen Grant 10 yo (70° proof, OB, Moray Bonding, 1950s)

A genuine antique, as this tall round baby had been bought in 1957 according to a handwritten mention on the label. A beautiful bottle! Colour: gold. Nose: the good side of Old Bottle Effect. I mean, its greatest side. Plenty of old waxes and oils, old books and other papers, old leather jacket, then rather beeswax, wax polish, hints of overripe bananas, quince juice, a whole bag of figs… The exact opposite of the 12 years old, I’m afraid. More old-style cough syrup after ten minutes, a touch of plasticine… Mouth: a wee bit drier, so a little less sexy than on the nose, and perhaps a little drying (pepper and black tea), but other than that the waxy and raisiny fruitiness is lovely. It’s all revolving around dried raisins, figs and dates. Good body after eighty years in glass. Finish: a little too drying, with some sawdust and more pepper. Some other parts remain lovely, such as notes of tarte tatin and quinces again. Comments: often the same story with very old bottles, a great nose and a palate that got a little too dry and flat. Flattish. It’s all time-barred anyway. SGP:441 - 82 points.

Glen Grant 37 yo 1970/2007 (44%, Duncan Taylor, Rare Auld, cask #3496, 143 bottles)

We’ve already tried a good dozen 1970s by Duncan Taylor, those used to be very fairly priced and pretty excellent. Not great, but excellent. Colour: gold. Nose: typical slightly mouldy beehivy notes, with some warm pinewood, beeswax, honey, pollen and all that, plus overripe apples, croissants and other buttery pastries, then rather fresh oranges. It’s perfect fresh and complex nose, an ode to ageing. Mouth: excellent again, with a mild spiciness (cinnamon, white pepper), then plenty of oranges, both regular and bitter, honey sauce, lemon balm, then more liquorice, grass and hay. Finish: quite long but a little drying again. A lot of cinnamon, black tea and nutmeg. Pinesap in the aftertaste. Comments: those used to be bargains, you could buy them for a song and a dance. They’ve multiplied the prices by ten since back then. SGP:451 - 88 points.

Let’s try a stronger one…

Glen Grant 22 yo 1992/2014 (57.8%, The Single Malts of Scotland, bourbon, cask #35936, 222 bottles)

Colour: pale gold. Nose: typical modern Glen Grant with bags and bags of apples and a few pears, then gooseberries, then peaches, all that being covered with a little barley water and sugarcane syrup. Very average malt whisky, in the best sense of the word ‘average’. With water: more of all that with an added freshness. How could anyone be against this? Whiffs of dough and flowers. Mouth (neat): sweet, big, very orchardy again, and punchy as well. Young calvados plus apple and pear juice, some barley syrup and some honey. It's simple, but it's perfect. Maybe a hint of Irishness, pure pot still style. With water: perfect sweet maltiness. Some cask! Finish: not too long but clean, fruity, sweet, and perfectly balanced. Comments: a tad more complexity could have made this baby fetch 90 in my little book. Great spirit. SGP:541 - 88 points.

Glen Grant 40 yo 1972/2012 (51.6%, Maltbarn, sherry)

Colour: full gold. Nose: there, this is it. This series is famous for its perfect honeyed notes, the very elegant dried fruits and the marvellous floral side. Mead, acacia honey, figs, dandelions, wax polish, mirabelles, apricots, bergamottes de Nancy (lovely bergamot flavoured sweets), then rather cinnamon cake and custard, zwetschke pie... How superb! With water: more of all that, with something slightly resinous/sappy. Hashish? Mouth (neat): perfect fresh and 'nervous' fruits, apples, oranges, quinces, plums... Then some crystallised angelica, more bergamots, raisins, and of course, a lot of honey. Some white pepper and cinnamon from the oak start to make it a little bitterer after one minute, but that's an asset. Also rosehip and honeysuckle teas. With water: little change. Not that we needed any. Finish: quite long, maybe a little drier and more cardboardy, and a wee tad too earthy and tannic, but hey, it's 40 years old. Comments: it lost one or two points during the finish, but it remains a great, very typical 1972 Glen Grant. SGP:551 - 91 points.

(Thanks a bunch Konstantin, Phil and Simon)

Check the index of all Glen Grant I've tasted so far

Pete McPeat and Jack Washback