
Mars 14, 2022

Little duos, today 72 years old Speyside and partner

Not the Macallan mind you, rather one of those exceptional, if not often totally sublime, peerless, matchless old Glen Grants by Gordon & MacPhail that already gave us so much pleasure. Record-breakers in your glass rather than at auctions or in press releases! What's more, this one, if I'm not mistaken, will be the oldest Glen Grant we've ever tried.

I also believe it's from one of those casks that many whisky enthusiasts have been marvelling at for decades while visiting G&M's warehouses. I even believe many of us actually knew this very cask, you know, first row on the right, floor level (or was it another one?) I can tell you that after having only 'dreamt' of trying its content one day, and pestered G&M's very engaging reps with dozens of questions 'they couldn't possibly have commented on', having it in flesh in your wee tulip glass feels like a kind of life achievement. Now, find a sparring partner. Well, I chose another Glen Grant, naturally, but one that instead of stemming from the most old-fashioned, serious and respected old houses in Scotland, comes from one of those very successful new DNVBs (digital native vertical brands), namely our dear friend The WhiskySponge. Let us proceed…

Glen Grant 26 yo 1995/2021 (50.6%, WhiskySponge, 328 bottles)

This was The Sponge's 42nd bottling. And we know he enjoys his Glen Grants (including very old ones by G&M, by the way). Colour: between white wine and straw. Nose: I'm not dreaming, this is rather 'old-school' Glen Grant, certainly fatter, oilier, also more mineral and flinty than other current offerings. It is then geared towards the more common vanilla, barley and ripe apples and pears, without departing from its mineral oiliness. With water: great, with wonderful mentholy herbs this time and more chalky limoncello, as well as green fruits. Greengages, naturally, gooseberries, bits of fresh rhubarb... Shouldn't we mention kiwi too? Mouth (neat): chalky lemons, you could almost call this 'a Scottish mojito'. Wee leafiness, aspirin tablet... With water: more of that, more tart citrus a first, then the same green fruits that we had found in the nose. Including that wonderful delicacy I used to love when I was a kid and that's become very hard to find, preserved greengages. Unless you make your own. Finish: rather long, on just the same combinations slowly fading away while you're considering having another glass (in drinking conditions, not when tasting of course, ha). Comments: pure barleyness, maltiness and 'proper' Glen-Grantness. Another fatter distillate-driven one by the Sponge.
SGP:552 - 90 points.

Glen Grant 72 yo 1948/2020 (52.6%, Gordon & MacPhail, Premier Whisky Hong Kong, American oak sherry cask, cask #440, 290 bottles)

Amazing. These decanters were filled in December 2020. Once more, the solid strength of these whiskies by G&M is staggering and does show that even when are very old, they remain in full form. Now, about the 1948 vintage, I did try one at 66 years old and one at 70 yo (the whisky, not me, tsk tsk!) and both had been utterly lovely (91-90) while a very special vatting, that 1948 + 1961 they did back in 1981 to celebrate the marriage of Charles and Diana had been rather weaker in my book (WF 81) but it's true that it had been bottled at 40% and that that they had probably done an extremely large batch. Colour: bronze gold. Nose: immediately on candied fruits (plums) and jams, plus delicate mint, pine resin and camphor. Not a trace of old age, nowhere, never. The only way to find out is to watch all the following aromas popping out one after the other for a good quarter of an hour, especially various very aromatic honeys and flowers such as our beloved woodruff and honeysuckle. In short, it's the complexity that gives the age away here. With water: as expected, hardwoods and fruitcakes are coming to the front. Cedarwood too, humidor, rosewood, some cinnamon, chestnut honey, many small dried dates and figs, and even 'echoes' of old rancio. Mouth: amazing, menthol, liquoricy and honeyed straight in the arrival this time, without a single off-note, on the contrary. Some kind of very old secret herbal liqueur. Great body by the way, very impressive. With water: could be the tricky part, let's see… No, not at all, with drops of lemon mint, mead, no oak 'as such', some tobacco, Zante currants, pear cake, tarte tatin… It's just endless and that, once again, comes with age. I mean, from Time. Finish: medium, this time with a tiny-wee bit of oakiness (black tea), which is completely normal. Cinnamon and cedarwood, a little marmalade, more dried figs and dates, plus perhaps wee bits of mushrooms in the aftertaste. Very lovely, never drying. Comments: naturally, we would now ask G&M about the numbers of casks of GG 1948 that they would still own; and they would politely answer, 'we couldn't possibly comment on that'. Got to love G&M. Well, anyway, if they still own sister casks, I'm happy to report that those will keep (if I humbly may, ha).
SGP:661 - 94 points.

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