
September 12, 2016

A bunch of Glen Grant

All indies this time. We’ll try to have younger ones as well as older glories. Some, mind you, unsherried!

Glen Grant 1995/2015 ‘Arbor in Bloom’ (46%, Wemyss Malts, bourbon, 258 bottles)

Colour: white wine. Nose: it’s one of those very zesty and grassy ones, full of lime, rhubarb, gooseberries, green plums, and, well, anything green, really. On top of all that, a little clay and green tea, or rather Japanese macha powder. Indeed, green stuff. Mouth: just as zesty, rather on fizzy orange juice (with a feeling of Fanta) and lemon juice, with some rather hot pepper and ginger in the background. It’s all rather sharp. More and more green pepper as well. Indeed, green. Finish: quite long, sharp, and you got it, green. Peppered rhubarb or something. Lime again in the aftertaste. Comments: not the best polished Glen Grant ever, I find it even quite crude. Crude but good, no doubt. SGP:361 - 80 points.

Oh well, let’s go straight to the older ones...

Glen Grant – Glenlivet 19 yo (80°proof, Cadenhead, black dumpy, dark sherry wood, 26 2/3 Fl, +/-1980)

One of the various no-vintage versions of Glen Grant that Cadenhead used to have when they were still in Aberdeen. Colour: gold. Nose: amazing. Indeed, it’s not dark, but it may have lost colour in the bottle. But it is amazing, full of herbs, metals, oils, and minerals. SO very tertiary. Just a few examples, we get parsley, tobacco, engine oil, antiseptic, fern (huge!), moss, plasticine, lovage… But no beefy/meaty notes this time, the sherry knew how to behave. Mouth: totally excellent, bone dry, medicinal, extremely herbal, and still very mineral. A chalky side, some Jerusalem artichoke and perhaps Brussels sprouts, very bitter oranges Sevillian style, and bits and pieces of tobacco, just like you chew your cigar. Really super-dry. Finish: long, with some bitter menthol and more grassy vegetables. Comments: this old whiskies can be intimidating to the beginner, but they have a lot to tell. Lovable, as expected. SGP:272 - 90 points.

Glen Grant – Glenlivet 35 yo 1980/2016 (40.5%, Cadenhead, Authentic Collection, bourbon hogshead, 96 bottles)

Probably not a shared cask, so around 75 litres of whisky at barely 40% vol. must have been all what was left in that hoggie. Colour: pale white wine – unusually pale! Nose: it is a fruit salad. Plenty of citrus (all of them) and some slices of apples, pears, grapes, green melons, bananas, and many other fruits. The freshness is impressive, it must have been a dead cask – which can lead to magnificent old whiskies, as we all know. Mouth: miraculously fresh, fruity, and mentholy. Juicyfruits, chlorophyll gums, green bananas, more apples, a touch of honeydew, and a touch of fennel. There is a little nutmeg and cinnamon but it never gets drying. Even the body is very okay. Finish: maybe a little short, but clean, not oaky (perhaps a bit tea-ish?) and full of soft garden fruits. Comments: truly a miracle. A little fragile at times, but it really is very much alive. SGP:561 - 88 points.

Speaking of smallish outturns, there’s also this one…

Glen Grant 30 yo 1985/2015 (59.1%, Douglas Laing, Xtra Old Particular, cask #DL11009, 36 bottles)

That is right, 36 bottles. Colour: gold. Nose: this one’s got much more oak than the 35 yo, with whiffs of warm plank (just sawn), plus quite some vanilla and cinnamon powder. What’s really nice is that after that arrival, some very fragrant honeydew and pinesap are taking over. Also new leather and cedar wood. With water: becomes much fruitier, so fruit-salady. Mouth (neat): very punchy, starting with some kind of peppered lemon curd, going on with rather more lemon and green spices (green curry, coriander), and ending up with many sweets and jelly beans, most being citrus-flavoured. I like this pretty mucho (a true polyglot!) With water: those jelly beans again, while the oak got a little more obvious and a tad drying. Just a tad. Finish: medium, fruity, akin to that of the 35 yo. No surprise here ! Comments: all very fine. SGP:551 - 87 points.

Glen Grant 1972/1995 ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ (43%, Signatory Vintage for Velier, butt #689)

Hope this one’s not obscured by clouds. Colour: amber. Nose: some sister casks had been a little difficult, but this nose is pretty perfect, all on dry fruitcakes and assorted dried fruits. Dried bananas, figs and dates, black raisins, then a wee touch of propolis (with these sappy tones), some tobacco, and an elegant game-y side. Rather grouse than hare or deer! Mouth: it was a perfect sherry cask. Old whisky à l’ancienne, with resins and many dried fruits, mulled wine, some ‘ideas’ of old armagnac, so prunes and tobacco, and our beloved old walnuts, just like in sherry. Finish: just the finish is a wee tad drying (chewing tobacco or tealeaves), but many friends like this quite a lot. Comments: a very excellent bottle and a whisky that stood the lower strength like a champ. At times I couldn’t not think of old Macallan. SGP:561 - 90 points.

(thank you Carsten)

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