A flash verticale of middle-aged Glen Grant


August 31, 2022

A flash verticale of middle-aged Glen Grant

The indies, and not just Gordon & MacPhail, keep having the upper hand, and by far, for reasons hard to explain – but it's true that it's the fate of many a Distillery these days. I wouldn't be too proud…

Magazine ad, circa 1980. Apparently, the admen weren't aware of Betteridge's law that kind of states that any headline or teaser that ends in a question mark will probably be answered by ' no!'.

Glen Grant 24 yo 1998/2022 (51.1%, Chapter 7, bourbon hogshead, cask #6454, 254 bottles)

Colour: straw. Nose: proof that Glen Grant can be much fatter than we tend to believe. Sunflower oil, engine oil, then chalk and raw wool, cider apples, a pack of lemon drops, some green gooseberries. Fat and zesty at the same time. With water: swims like a champ. Papayas, pears, mangos, fruit salad, cassata, fresh baguette and sourdough bread. Wow, lovely. Mouth (neat): wonderful tight and, indeed, fattish arrival, geared towards doughs, fresh breads, bits of lemon zests and more chalky elements. We shall call this one too a 'Sancerre-y' malt. With water: more Sancerre, with a salty and peaty side that comes a little unexpected. Finish: long, tight and appropriately vertical, yet the mouth feel remains kind of fat all along. Green apples in the aftertaste. Comments: absolutely wonderful, in the style of some older 'natural' GGs by G&M. You know, the 'pale' vattings. Very high-class.
SGP:562 - 89 points.

Glen Grant 23 yo 1998/2021 (52.7%, The Whisky Agency, sherry hogshead, 273 bottles)

Colour: gold. Nose: greener, more citrusy, perhaps more complex as well, more on cider apples and lemons, limestone, candlewax, paraffin, sunflower oil once more, more lemons, more limes… Well, looks like It's just another exceptional Glen Grant. The sherry's for the record, you do not, well I do not quite feel it. With water: roots coming out, gentian, celeriac, horseradish… Mouth (neat): ho-ho, quince and lemons, on grassy leaves and stems. Hyper-citric, superb. With water: oh rather sublime! Same high tightness, chalk, lemons, green rhubarb and gooseberries… And still no sherry in sight, unless it as a bone-dry fino or manzanilla. Finish: long, ultra-clean, but with a little vanilla and beeswax in the aftertaste. Which would add a feeling of civilisation. Comments: the 1960s were back in the mid-to-late 1990s…
SGP:661 - 90 points.

Glen Grant 24 yo 1995 + 1997 (49.8%, WhiskySponge, refill barrel and refill hogshead, 443 bottles)

A little bird told me that The Sponge was a lover of old Glen Grant and of any proper sequels… Colour: straw. Nose: same ballpark, obviously, even if this one has even more rootiness, from wild sweet carrots to parsnips and soft radishes, not to mention gentian. Then whiffs of graphite and liquorice wood, celeriac, a little porridge and muesli, walnut skins… Mouth: much love for this earthy and very gentiany combo. More wild carrots, lemon zests, samphires and dried herbs, thyme, mushrooms, and indeed some fino sherry, with some tight mustard and green walnuts – even if there wasn't any sherry involved here. Finish: long, herbal and earthy. More fruits in the aftertaste, with also some yellow chartreuse and verbena liqueur. And mirabelles. Comments: it's a drier, tighter one and it's absolutely lovable. Great multi-vintage bottle by The Sponge, that marine animal should talk with Rhum J.M. in Martinique.
SGP:461 - 89 points.

Last one…

Glen Grant 23 yo 1995/2019 (51%, The Maltman for Shinanoya, In The Black, Japan, sherry cask, cask #11, 283 bottles)

Colour: gold. Nose: it's a relatively rounder one, with more soft waxes, more floral notes too (dandelion), more butterscotch and even coconut (a few drops of liqueur), blancmange, then those lovely aromas that would tend to come with good sherry, here milk chocolate, raisins, walnut cake and espresso. All great, not a single flaw this far. With water: notes of stout and mead, I would say. Marrow soup and Bovril, only in very small doses. Mouth (neat): the tighter fruitiness strikes back, with a lot of lemon, grapefruit and lemongrass. Some exquisite grassy notes too. With water: exquisite indeed, you'd almost believe this is some old ex-sherry Bowmore that would have been de-peated with some bespoke device no one's ever heard of yet. Oh the vision of horror! Finish: rather long, a little meatier and more chocolaty, but it would remain rather fresh and zesty. Comments: good fun here, with nose and palate being rather dissimilar as far as the sherriness is concerned. Oh well, it's just another very excellent one.
SGP:551 - 89 points.

This can happen, all whiskies in the same ballpark as far as quality's concerned. Which is more pleasant to the taster when the whiskies are this good, naturally.

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