February 18, 2016

In a few hours I’m off to a country where Internet access may be very intermittent, if not totally impossible. That’s why I’m posting a big fat tasting session today, because I may not be able to post more for quite a few days, we’ll see.

A Glen Grant extravaganza

Glen Grant’s a classic. In Italy, for example, the brand’s long been number one, not only in volume, but also in value, some bottling fetching extremely high prices among early collectors. It was, believe or not, ‘above’ Macallan. Anyway, time to have quite a few of them, both old and recent. Starting, as usual, with a popular apéritif that used to be sold as an apéritif indeed…

Glen Grant 5 yo 1968 (40%, OB, 75cl, +/-1973)

Not the first time I’m trying this one, but my previous notes were very rudimentary. Colour: white wine. Nose: lemon juice with touches of barley, hay, and metal polish, possibly from bottle ageing. I’d add limoncello, lemongrass, and well, all things lemony. Mouth: it’s certainly got more fatness than contemporary Glen Grants, which are rather more innocuous, and obviously more lemons again. Once again this feeling of drier limoncello, blended with a little liquid wax and perhaps drops of brine, or oyster juice, which gives it an unexpected coastal side. Finish: unexpectedly long and peaty/salty. Comments: it’s well known that 1968 had been very dry on Islay, and that most distillery were consequently silent, which may have led several distilleries on the mainland to produce peaty batches for their blends. That’s why they had restarted Brora, for example. Did they do the same at Glen Grant? What’s sure is that this baby’s surprisingly good. SGP:452 - 86 points.

Another apéritif please…

Glen Grant 12 yo (40%, OB, 75cl, +/-1975)

Colour: amber. Nose: up! These bottles are easy to find at auctions for quite cheap, and are not to be missed. Lovely combination with praline, chocolate, metal polish, tobacco, leather, walnuts, and indeed, dry sherry. Bottle ageing has probably improved it, as it does nose much older than just 12. Unless, as they were almost all doing at those times of high whisky loch, there was some much older malt inside in the first place. Mouth: a-ma-zing. Really an ‘hidden gem’, very complex, with a lot of old oloroso, walnut wine, cigar tobacco, dried figs, cinnamon, perhaps dried bananas, and indeed this wee smokiness that complements the whole very beautifully. Plus, it tastes much stronger than just 40% vol. Finish: long, earthier, but always on a lot of tobacco and oloroso. Comments: the good old times, really. An extremely impressive cheap old bottle! SGP:462 - 88 points.

Glen Grant 15 yo (40%, Gordon & MacPhail, 75cl, +/-1990)

The version at 57% vol. or 100° proof is rather more well-known. And excellent (WF 87). Colour: gold. Nose: rather lighter, and perhaps a little flatter than the others. A little more menthol, green tea, and cardboard, and rather less of anything else. Still pleasant, though. Mouth: yeah, it got a little too drying and kind of tannic, although what’s in the background is clearly of high quality. Bananas flambéed and tarte tatin, with a lot of dry black tea and bitter chocolate. Some sourness as well, overripe apples… Finish: medium, kind of tannic and cardboardy. Comments: very much drinkable, but I wouldn’t say it’s stood the taste of time as well as, say Tina Turner (what?) SGP:371 - 72 points.

Another chance…

Glen Grant 10 yo (70° proof, Gordon & MacPhail, 26 2/3 fl. ozs, +/-1968)

Colour: gold. Nose: a grassy dry sherry, and something sour. Dry Madeira, tarragon, cigars, balsamic vinegar… Sounds interesting, doesn’t it, but I think the balance isn’t right (anymore). Mouth: rather better, but really unusual. Bottle ageing gone mad! Chicken soup with some honey inside (I know), coffee and mustard (apologies), and black tea with some salt (I’m deeply sorry). And quite some salted liquorice (that’s better). Finish: long, salty, with some ham and plenty of cardboard. Comments: certainly fun, but trying this is like listening to Ornette Coleman for the very first time. Not foul, but highly disconcerting. The ‘less good’ side of Old Bottle Effect. SGP:172 - 65 points.

Okay, I think we’re ready, let’s just start a verticale!

Glen Grant 1995/2015 'Cherry and lemon Treat' (46%, Wemyss Malts, barrel, 275 bottles)

Colour: straw. Nose: nothing to do with the old ones, this one’s much more ‘orchardy’, fresh, fruity, clean, and perhaps simple. Ripe apples drizzled with honey and maple syrup, plus some custard, then touches of mint and perhaps fruity olive oil. Mouth: more apples than lemons if you ask me, and probably more plums than cherries, but we won’t argue. The vanilla might be a tad loud(ish), and makes this baby lose a bit of its fresh fruitiness. Finish: medium, with a touch of sawdust beyond the vanilla, the malt, and the apples. Comments: certainly good, but there’s a little less character, in my opinion, than in most other bottlings by Wemyss, which I almost always find very excellent. A little ‘in the middle of the road’. SGP:541 - 78 points.

1995? Let’s see what Cadenhead have to say…

Glen Grant 20 yo 1995/2015 (57.5%, Cadenhead, Authentic Collection, butt, 510 bottles)

Colour: gold. Nose: first you open a new box of Cuban cigars (hint), you nose them deeply, then you nose some fresh pencil shavings, then some chocolate by a good maker (no industrial junk), then some guignolet (cherry liqueur – at last!), then a glass of your favourite mouthwash. You’ve got a pretty good idea of this wee malt. With water: farmier and more leathery. Clean cow stable, horse saddle. Mouth (neat): some punchy, fruity, caramely sherry. Raisins, caramel sauce, maple syrup, Demerara sugar, vanilla, Ovaltine, and one Mars bar. Not deep-fried. With water: some fresher fruits, which is always better. Stewed peaches, and more honey. Heather? Finish: long, even more honeyed. Plum jam. Comments: only the traces of new oak bothered me a tiny wee bit. Otherwise this would have been a solid 90. SGP:551 - 88 points.

This is really becoming Cadenheadfun.com, but imagine a lover of, say sports cars complaining about the fact that he’s got too many Ferraris to test-drive…

Glen Grant 19 yo 1995/2015 (58.4%, Cadenhead, Small Batch, 1086 bottles)

Colour: gold. Nose: what, volatile acidity in malt whisky? I’m not joking… Let’s wait… zzz… zzz… (after ten minutes)… Well, we aren’t very far from the AC, this one’s just a little leafier, with more walnuts as well. So a little drier, I’d say. With water: it got tenser, sharper, a little more herbal than the AC. But they’re very close together, obviously. Mouth (neat): we’re so close to the AC! Perhaps are there a little more oranges, a little more menthol, and a little more earth? But it’s really strong, so… With water: same fresher fruits and honey, with the same minty thing behind all that. Spearmint. Finish: same, really. Comments: you could spend hours, and buckets of both whiskies, to analyse the differences between the Authentic Collection and the Small Batch. Hey, wouldn’t that be another cunning plan by W.M. Cadenhead’s? Tsk tsk… SGP:551 - 88 points (PS I had a tiny preference for the AC, but we don’t do quarter points).

Crikey, we’re still in 1995, while we’ve got so many older Glen Grants to try…

Glen Grant 21 yo 1992/2014 (51.5%, Exclusive Malts for Whisky.com.tw, bourbon barrel, cask #130811, 204 bottles)

A lovely Taiwanese bottling. Taiwan’s really become one of the leading whisky places in the world, not only because of Kavalan or Nantou, but also because of its crazily smart whisky enthusiasts. Colour: gold. Nose: it’s very revealing to taste this one after the sherried ones, because this really underlines the influence of active American oak. Indeed, this is a fruit salad covered with litres of custard and quite some grated coconut. In a way, this could have been made at Midleton’s. With water: honey and vanilla-ed sawdust. Mouth (neat): an abundance of vanilla, ripe apples, cakes, and coconut balls. Very easy despite the rather high strength. With water: more sweet oak, some mint, and notes of geranium flower jelly. We’re approaching bourbonness. Finish: medium, rounded, fruity. Comments: this baby was surprisingly Redbreasty (should that word exist), or rather right between Kentucky and Southern Ireland. American oak at its most vivid. SGP:651 - 85 points.

Glen Grant 1990/2015 (56.6%, Archives, hogshead, cask #15230, 231 bottles)

Colour: light gold. Nose: a sharper, less vanilla-ed one, but it’s still easy and fruity malt whisky. Many tined fruits, such as peaches, pears, apricots, perhaps even bananas, covered with a light honey-and-vanilla sauce and a little barley water. Plain easiness, despite the strength. With water: caramelised Gueuze and tarte tatin. Mouth (neat): classic fruity Speysider, with pears and apples and white cherries (there) and a little honey. Plus a little bubblegum and sweet hoppy beer, IPA-style. With water: caramel, caramelised peanuts, apple pie. Finish: medium, maltier, with a little citrus, which is good. Comments: modern style, not a very wide and complex profile, and this might even be the ‘simplest’ kind of expression of malt whisky, but it’s very good indeed. What’s more, it swims very well. Average in the better sense of that word. SGP:551 - 84 points.

Break. More very soon.

…

Good, where were we? Right, in 1990. Let’s go further back in time, to the 1970s. We’ll have delve into the 1980s on another occasion.

Glen Grant 1975/2003 (45%, Samaroli, 35th Anniversary)

Samaroli played it old-school on their labels for their anniversary. ‘Special Old Liqueur – Unblended Malt’? How funny is that? Colour: coffee. Nose: oh perfect sherry! It’s extremely oloroso-y (err…) but there are also delicate hints of roses and polished precious wood, plus something that would remind me of some very old cognac of great provenance. A little musk, perhaps. What’s sure is that it’s rather fragrant, and simply fantastic, provided these perfumy notes don’t get a little cloying, or simply off on the palate. Let’s see… Mouth: no. It’s some total sherry monster, full of walnut wine, Cynar, prunes, Russian black tea, pipe tobacco… and all that. A fantastic kind of full-blown sherry that’s not often to be encountered in contemporary whiskies. Finish: very long, and very chocolaty this time. Comments: an extreme and extremely good dry sherry monster. SGP:362 - 93 points.

More of this please!

Glen Grant 1975/2001 (45%, Samaroli)

An antique-looking handwritten label that reminds me of some very expensive old cognacs. Colour: dark amber. Nose: less extreme than the 75/03, and consequently fruitier and rather more herbal. But no less cognacqy! Dried figs, raisins, stewed peaches, pipe tobacco, a little leather, roasted pecans… I have to say that this fresher and brighter style is as much to my liking, even if it’s a little less ‘obviously great’. Mouth: a lot of sherry this time, with fantastic raisins and other dried fruits. Dates, pears… A little jammier as well (quinces, plums) and marmalady. Quite some spices, especially cinnamon and ginger. A wee tad prickly, perhaps (that’s the oak). Finish: drier indeed, with a lot of cinnamon, black tea, and a touch of leather. Comments: very, very high quality again, it’s just that the 1975/2003 was more spectacular. SGP:461 - 91 points.

Glen Grant 1974/2000 (50.5%, Scott's Selection)

There’s isn’t much Scott’s Selection around these days. Do they still bottle whisky? Colour: gold. Nose: a completely different style, much grassier, with many more lemons, as well as whiffs of damp clay, but also something a little sour. Sour apples, even drops of apple vinegar… Let’s see. With water: rather nicer. Humus, earth, damp pipe tobacco… It’s also rather less sour, which is obviously better. Mouth (neat): a little weird, with ‘chemical’ tastes, leatherette, more sour apples, a feeling of sucking chalk (at school ;-))… Not very convincing. With water: not quite, I find too much paraffin, and a yeasty side. Finish: medium, dry, always with this sourness. Comments: I’m simply not a fan of this style. SGP:361 - 77 points.

Glen Grant 37 yo 1973/2010 (46%, Thosop, sherry cask)

Colour: gold. Nose: largely nicer than the Scott, but that wasn’t extremely difficult to do. Some kind of fruit wine, or perhaps fig arrak, some vanilla, some sultanas, and a touch of earth. Hints of baklavas and other oriental pastries. Mouth: starts very well, on these dried fruits, but the oak tends to take over, making this old Glen Grant rather drying and tea-ish. A bit of a shame, because all the rest is extremely pleasant. Same notes of baklavas, orange blossom water, then rather sour apples and walnuts. Finish: medium, rather oaky again. Tea tannins. Comments: very good, but we’re a little beyond my own limits with regards to oak impact. But yeah, otherwise, very good. SGP:461 - 83 points.

Glen Grant 37 yo 1970/2007 (53.3%, Duncan Taylor, for The Nectar, cask #3475, 139 bottles)

Colour: gold. Nose: typical 1970 Glen Grant by Duncan Taylor, they had many. You’re nosing a whole beehive – without the stings – plus a rather marvellous blend of apple and orange juices. It’s the freshness that’s most impressive, and the balance. Mouth: indeed. It’s not that there isn’t almost as much oak as in the Thosop, but this time it brought some refined mentholy notes, plus notes of grapefruit skins. Many orchard fruits, apples, peaches, gooseberries, some honey, tangerines… From the oak, rather cinnamon and white pepper, plus a little nutmeg. Finish: medium, on the same flavours, plus more green tea in the aftertaste. Comments: totally excellent. Loved the freshness. Only two or three casks in this series got a tad too oaky in my book. Sadly, they’re now bottling the last casks in ‘unlikely’ decanters and sell them for ten times the original prices. But business is business, I suppose. SGP:651 - 90 points.

The 1960s now. Why not an old young sherry monster?

Glen Grant 10 yo 1967/1978 (86.8 US proof, Averys for Corti Bros., San Francisco)

Ten years in wood and almost forty years in glass, we have high hopes, very high hopes… Colour: mahogany. Nose: old brandy de Jerez! Well, that won’t last, because there’s an admirable smokiness arising, some tar, wee touches of natural rubber, bags of hot roasted chestnuts, and this amazing ‘bouillony’ side that can be so stunning in the best sherried whiskies. Perfect umami. Mouth: very high class, not unlike the best G&Ms (some Book of Kells, for example). Perfect chocolate, a touch of copper, Spanish ham, walnuts and chestnuts, hints of Seville oranges, drops of crème de menthe, quite some liquorice, a little tar, barbecued/caramelised beef, chocolate sauce (Mexican mole)… All that at a perfect strength. Finish: quite long, superbly chocolaty, well in the style of the best old very sherried Macallans from the better days. Comments: just totally and plainly amazing. SGP:452 - 93 points.

Break…

…

We’re back for a last salvo, all by old indies.

Glen Grant 1966/2013 (45%, Gordon & MacPhail, Queen's Award)

This baby was bottled to celebrate G&M’s Queen’s Award for Enterprise for International Trade. Some kind of rather strange custom they have in Britannia ;-). Colour: gold. Nose: it’s a fresh one that starts on early grey and mandarins, with a fair deal of buttered cream and overripe apples. All that makes it pretty pastry-like, or breakfasty as some say. There are whiffs of burnt oak in the background, which is both intriguing and a little worrying wrt the palate, let’s see… Mouth: it is rather oaky indeed, gritty, drying, tea-ish… I think this baby went past its prime, and these notes of apple peelings and strong black tea in the background do confirm that. All this cinnamon as well. Finish: medium, drying, oaky, with a mentholy and liquoricy signature. Comments: it’s as if the very excellent and highly distinguished people at G&M’s had wanted to say, in a very cunning manner, ‘we don’t care much for the award’. Just a wild guess ;-). SGP:271 - 78 points.

Glen Grant 12 yo (80° proof, Cadenhead, licensed bottling, 26 2/3 fl ozs, 1960s)

Another rare licensed bottling by Cadenhead, who were using more or less the same ‘official’ labels as G&M. We’ll have another interesting one after this one. Colour: gold. Nose: some rubber at first nosing (a box of new rubber bands), and probably whiffs of exhaust fumes, then some rather obvious notes of high-ester rum, Jamaican-style. Did they recycle some old rum casks? Another one that’s very intriguing, to say the least. The whole’s very dry. Mouth: not so sure, after all. I wouldn’t call it ‘rum-inflenced’, but there may be traces, such as this Demerara sugar, and this discreet brininess. Beyond that, some malt, oranges, tea, and apple pie, then some mint-flavoured tea, Turkish-style. With pine nuts! Finish: medium, with some chocolate, marmalade, orange juice, and a little honey. Very nice. Comments: very good, and funny. Not too sure about the rum part, have they kept the old Aberdeen records at Cadenhead’s? We should check that… SGP:452 - 87 points.

Glen Grant 13 yo (107° proof, H.R. Ingram Aberdeen, licensed bottling, 26 2/3 fl ozs, 1960s)

107 proof, that’s 61.1% vol.! I haven’t found any information about H.R. Ingram of Aberdeen, so I suppose that was one of Cadenhead’s sub-brands. But I could be wrong… Colour: gold. Nose: it still roars and scratches! I seem to find notes of sour beer, mashed turnips, mentholy earth and moss (where the porcinis grow), and perhaps a little marzipan. This should be very lovely, in fact. With water: it is. Some mineral notes, limestone, old cigar box, citron liqueur, orange-flavoured marzipan, quince paste… A very lovely nose, easy to tame. Mouth (neat): very powerful, but just superb. Chocolate mints, pink grapefruits, marmalades (lemon and orange), bone dry riesling, angelica, pinesap, a touch of fennel and dill… Really superb. With water: very, very excellent. Orange liqueur-filled chocolate, a little cocoa, more marzipan, a touch of leather, tobacco, salted almonds… Fantastic. Finish: medium, chocolaty and orangey, always with this almondy side. A few raisins on the aftertaste – it was about time! ;-) Comments: an old young Glen Grant de la muerte, I say! SGP:562 - 91 points.

This madness has to stop. So, a last one…

Glen Grant 1954/2012 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail, Rare Vintage, 1st fill sherry casks)

1954? Ooh the ‘Book of Kells’ for LMdW from two years ago, what a star that was! (WF 93). Colour: deep amber. Nose: very impressive, imparting an immediate feeling of well-being, just like when you’re listening to Bach, or early Miles Davis. Ultra-classic sherried malt whisky, full of Corinth raisins, prunes, marmalade, chocolate, dates, zests, figs… and other dried fruits. A wonderful Christmas cake moistened with the best kirsch ever. After twenty seconds, some mint (as almost always with fine very old malts) and a touch of liquorice for good measure. And after forty seconds, the much expected and anticipated umami-esque notes of soy sauce, mushrooms, earth, and pipe tobacco. More classic than this no exist. Mouth: we’re in the same family as that of a great old cognac or even calvados, with raisins again, fruitcakes aplenty, some chocolate, more raisins, ripe plums, oranges… Now it’s true that the oak feels a bit (mind you, 58 years in wood), but since it’s geared towards a chocolaty and minty profile, all remains more than very fine. Only the strength is a tad low, I’m sure 43% vol. would have worked better. Finish: medium, with an amazing freshness, rather on chocolate, mint, and oranges. Perfect combo. Comments: they call this an after-dinner dram. I do agree, unless your meal’s been a little rich, in which case I prefer something that’s got more oomph. Like a Port Ellen Rare Malts ;-). Anyway, great, great old Glen Grant. Despite the old-fashioned 40% vol.! SGP:561 - 91 points.

Good, nineteen Glen Grants, some just perfect, I guess that’ll be enough. I hope I’ll be able to post ‘something’ while abroad, but that’s a little unlikely, we’ll see what we can do. In the meantime, stay safe, don’t buy whisky that’s too expensive for what it is, and don’t drink too much!

(With thanks to Angus, Diego, Luc, Max, and Olivier)

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