December 28, 2015

Very old Glen Grant

Specialists Gordon & MacPhail keep using some olorious very old Speysiders, such as Mortlachs, Glenlivets, or Glen Grants. 60 years old, 65, 70, or even 75... Proof, maybe, that it's not only the wood that counts, and that age matters as well. So today we'll have some Glen Grants by G&M, especially two old 1950s. But first, as usual, some aperitif...

Glen Grant (40%, OB, 75cl, +/-1988)

An old NAS version, very cheap at the time. Cheaper than an 5, 8 or 10 years old. This is the version at 40%, we’ll also have the one at 43% for the sake of whisky research. Colour: gold. Nose: it was still one of those rather smoky Glen Grants, with more body than other versions, and a combination of rubber and grass, plus bread and yeast. Not an easy-easy entry-level malt for sure. Mouth: good, citrusy, mineral, quite peaty, with some body and some structure. Develops on green tea and a touch of brine, as well as a sooty, ashy side. This ‘old Highlands’ style is rather impressive, even if the whole’s a little rough. Finish: quite long, bitterish, malty, salty, ashy… Comments: a very surprising version, but we’ve had some ‘vintaged’ old 5yos that had this profile as well. . To think that it must have cost a song and a dance… SGP:362 - 82 points.

Glen Grant (43%, OB, 75cl, +/-1988)

Let’s see if the extra-3% have added anything… Colour: gold. Nose: this is funny, this version’s a little lighter, a little less ashy/smoky, and rather fruitier, with all the apples that are still to be found in contemporary young Glen Grants, as well as lovely touches of mangos. So, a batch that’s less smoky. Mouth: closer again. Leafy, grassy, salty, mineral, ashy… It’s even fat, and while the mangos have vanished, the smoke is back. Much texture in this cheap old bottle. Finish: surprisingly long again, with green tea, green apples, and always this ashy mouth feel. Comments: equivalent quality. Frankly, after all these years, and given the fact that it was most probably not the same batch, the extra-3% do not feel. Bottles worth buying at auctions, for a few Euros, as long as the shipping fees do not ‘kill the bargain’. SGP:452 - 82 points.

What else do we have at low strength… Oh, this…

Glen Grant 25 yo 'Royal Wedding Reserve' (40%, OB, Seagram Italia, 75cl, 1981)

This official Glen Grant was bottled to celebrate the marriage of Charles and Diana. So, it’s obviously 1950s distillation. Colour: dark gold. Nose: OBE, with flying colours, metallic smoke, and garage-y phenols. Old copper coins, tea, old cough syrup (a bit stale), then dried figs, burning eucalyptus (wildfire in Corsica – well, when we say wild…) And then our beloved pu-erh tea. Any genuine whisky lover should know pu-erh tea! Mouth: this fattish arrival that was already in the old NAS, but of course this has more depth… and rather less structure. Mint tea, old cough syrup, dried porcinis, a wee bit of copper again (or your favourite silver spoon)… Tends to lose a bit of steam, but that’s normal. A little tar. Finish: medium to short. More pu-erh tea, metal, a little cardboard, bitter chocolate… Comments: it got a little fragile, but it’s still a wonderful old malt, with perhaps more complexity than in modern whiskies. SGP:362 - 86 points.

So, the 1950s…

Glen Grant 60 yo 1950/2010 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail, first fill & refill sherry, casks #2750 & 2760)

This one’s older than me. Just saying. Colour: bronze amber. Nose: very delicate. Starts with some fresh butter and a little warm brioche, so rather breakfasty, before more dried fruits, some earth, a little old wood, and hints of very old oloroso start to complete the picture. It’s after around five minutes that tinier aromas arrive, such as cut potatoes, light pipe tobacco, walnut wine, a touch of fresh paint, almonds… It’s all very delicate, a bit whispering, let’s see if it goes the distance on the palate… Mouth: no OBE, obviously, and while there’s quite some tea and green pepper from the oak, it never quite gets drying. Chamomile, more walnut wine, perhaps a wee touch of cooked turnip, some bitter oranges, a little chocolate, hints of chives and chicken bouillon, even more walnuts… And a drop of soy sauce – or is that lovage? Maggi? Finish: not that short, and what’s really cool is that it gets fruitier, while these oldies then to get drier. Around oranges and stewed apples covered with cinnamon powder. Love the honeyed aftertaste. Comments: I had feared there would be much more wood. A super-old bottle that’s worth sourcing, because it wasn’t extremely expensive when it came out, given its age. Mind you, sixty years! Of course, at a higher strength, the results would have been even higher I guess… SGP:461 - 90 points.

A higher strength? Just ask!...

Glen Grant 65 yo 1950/2015 (59.3%, Gordon & MacPhail, for Wealth Solutions, cask #2747)

A sister cask of the previous one, bottled at an incredible strength! Even if it was filled at 65% vol. (pure speculation) in ultra-tight oak – doubt it was hazel or chestnut - and then stored just under the roof in G&M’s warehouse in Elgin, a loss of only 4 to 5% ABV sounds totally incredible in Scotland. Unless this baby was matured in Kentucky, Bangalore, or Taipei, ha-ha. What’s sure is that this kind of rarity is super-interesting… Colour: deep gold. Nose: incredible indeed. It’s both old and young, which is a very funny feeling. Starts with tropical fruits, rather around papayas and bananas, and goes on with all things mentholy. A little terpenic, perhaps. What’s really beautiful is that tiny earthy touches tend to come out, I’d almost say to germinate. Tiny roots, watercress, moss, these small mushrooms that are so fragrant (do you know clitocybes? – no typo)… That’s really lovely. With water: more very subtle oaky and earthy tones. Our beloved pu-erh tea yet again, mossy wood… And yet it’s not musty as such. Some menthol and some pinesap for sure. Mouth (neat): bam! It’s not easy, a little acrid, very concentrated, oaky for sure, a little biting… Well it’s no toothless old malt, for sure. I think water’s obligatory. With water: changes a lot, becoming rounder, with some kind of old coconut liqueur, plenty of tea, Korean plum wine, cinnamon… There are small flavours that aren’t often found in malt whisky, even in very old ones. Finish: rather long, and, hurray, rather fruity. Barley wine (yes) and orange liqueur. The oak’s back in the aftertaste. Cinnamon mints, liquorice, lemon drops. Comments: quite a beast! Most interesting and good, you just need to have a Ph.D in Pipetting to fully enjoy it. And probably a little more time. SGP:561 - 90 points.

There will be a part two, stay tuned...

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