One of my friends used to work for Total Wine. This person confirmed that product education was not valued while she worked there. But what was/is prioritized foremost is the selling their own exclusive labels (I think they're called Spirits Direct products). For instance, Grangestone is one of their whisky labels. There are Grangestone blends and single malts, from NAS to 30 years. And their because Grangestone's prices are very reasonable, I've stared at these bottles for longer than I should have. But I don't know what's inside the bottles and (due to my experiences) I don't trust their staff to accurately inform me. It's too bad that SoCal has so many liquor permit issues because a full public Grangestone tasting would be very useful for them (Total Wine) and us (the customers).
Happily, one of my other whisky friends (J.L.R.) received a bottle of Grangestone Double Cask as a Christmas present. "Happily" for me, not for him. He was not a fan, but he was more than amenable to part with a review sample.
Photobomb by someone who is not J.L.R. |
Warning: high quality photo! |
Retailer: Total Wine & More
Distillery: ???
Type: Single Malt
Region: Highlands
Type: Single Malt
Region: Highlands
Age: no statement
Maturation: probably refill ex-bourbons and first fill ex-bourbons
Alcohol by Volume: 40%
Thank you to J.L.R. for this sample!
NEAT
It has the dark orange gold glow of added caramel colorant. The nose starts of with a bit of orange candy. Then switches directly to cardboard. Then more cardboard and microwaved plastic fumes. That's followed by cassia cinnamon, chives, mint, and hay. After some airing out, notes of vanilla and pear, um, appear. The palate has a weird amount of heat for a 40%abv whisky. There's some vanilla and caramel up front. Then notebook paper and Nilla wafers. It doesn't air out well, growing sour and developing a case of The Turps. It does have some texture to it, though. It finishes with caramel and lemons. It gets grainier with time and picks up some chlorophyl-ish notes.
ON THE ROCKS
Gah! Awful, awful, awful bitter poison. Cutty Sark reborn! Kill it! I tried to stab it with my United boot knife, but succeeded only in cracking the tumbler.
HIGHBALL
Refreshing, but that's due to all of the club soda I dumped in it. There may be whispers of apple and vanilla in there though.
I'll start with the positives. It's not an utter failure like Lismore NAS. Aside from all of the cardboard notes, the nose isn't bad. It doesn't taste too poorly as long as one drinks it immediately. And the highball was consumable. It's better than Dewar's White and JW Red (as if that was a feat).
Otherwise this is really young whisky. And while it's possible to have characterful zippy baby single malt, this ain't it. In fact, this is almost exactly like the current NAS iteration of Canadian Club 1858, with its Nillas, orange candy, caramel, and turpentine. But what is this whisky in actuality? Well, the label does say "Highland" on it. My top three guesses would be in this order: Tomatin, reject Glenmorangie, and Dalmore.
And finally, though the price sounds tempting, there are better things to be found. At Total Wine (in CA) one can get Glenfiddich 12, Tomatin 12, Glenmorangie 10, Speyburn 10, Chivas 12, and JW Black Label for almost the same amount (or less). So it's difficult to recommend this on any level. If the older Grangestones are any better, please let us know in the comment section!
Availability - Total Wine & More
Pricing - $24.99
Rating - 70
Thank you to J.L.R. for this sample!
NEAT
It has the dark orange gold glow of added caramel colorant. The nose starts of with a bit of orange candy. Then switches directly to cardboard. Then more cardboard and microwaved plastic fumes. That's followed by cassia cinnamon, chives, mint, and hay. After some airing out, notes of vanilla and pear, um, appear. The palate has a weird amount of heat for a 40%abv whisky. There's some vanilla and caramel up front. Then notebook paper and Nilla wafers. It doesn't air out well, growing sour and developing a case of The Turps. It does have some texture to it, though. It finishes with caramel and lemons. It gets grainier with time and picks up some chlorophyl-ish notes.
ON THE ROCKS
Gah! Awful, awful, awful bitter poison. Cutty Sark reborn! Kill it! I tried to stab it with my United boot knife, but succeeded only in cracking the tumbler.
HIGHBALL
Refreshing, but that's due to all of the club soda I dumped in it. There may be whispers of apple and vanilla in there though.
I'll start with the positives. It's not an utter failure like Lismore NAS. Aside from all of the cardboard notes, the nose isn't bad. It doesn't taste too poorly as long as one drinks it immediately. And the highball was consumable. It's better than Dewar's White and JW Red (as if that was a feat).
Otherwise this is really young whisky. And while it's possible to have characterful zippy baby single malt, this ain't it. In fact, this is almost exactly like the current NAS iteration of Canadian Club 1858, with its Nillas, orange candy, caramel, and turpentine. But what is this whisky in actuality? Well, the label does say "Highland" on it. My top three guesses would be in this order: Tomatin, reject Glenmorangie, and Dalmore.
And finally, though the price sounds tempting, there are better things to be found. At Total Wine (in CA) one can get Glenfiddich 12, Tomatin 12, Glenmorangie 10, Speyburn 10, Chivas 12, and JW Black Label for almost the same amount (or less). So it's difficult to recommend this on any level. If the older Grangestones are any better, please let us know in the comment section!
Availability - Total Wine & More
Pricing - $24.99
Rating - 70