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Wednesday, January 27, 2021

Glen Grant 25 year old Royal Wedding Reserve, bottled in 1981

Glen Grant released this 25-year-old single malt to commemorate the Anglo-Saxon Marriage of the Century between The Prince of Wales and the daughter of the 8th Earl Spencer in 1981. That coupling and the offspring it issued forth will get no further digital ink here. But I will note that Prince Charles enjoyed Laphroaig, specifically the old 15-year-old. Meanwhile his brother Andrew preferred 17 year olds.

Wocka wocka!

Of more relevance is that this whisky was distilled in 1956 or earlier. Its dilution to 40%abv is of some concern, but yesterday's Glen Grant glory was 43%, so......???

Distillery: Glen Grant
Region: Speyside (Rothes)
Ownership at time of distillation: The Glenlivet and Glen Grant Distilleries
Age: at least 25 years
Distillation date: 1956 or earlier
Bottling date: 1981
Maturation: ???
Outturn: ????
Alcohol by Volume: 40%
(Thank you to the very generous Cobo for the sample!)

It noses of peaches and roses wrapped in adhesive bandages. Poor things. Dried cherries and dried apricots in a damp basement. Orange candy and menthol notes push to the fore after 30 minutes.

The palate balances prettier notes of flowers and toffee with darker elements of earth and mothballs. It has a bitter side that goes well with the toffee, though it reads a bit oaky. A cayenne pepper rumble drifts through the background.

It finishes with bitterness and ash on top, grapefruit and Campari on the bottom, getting sweeter with successive sips.

This whisky hit a steadfast ceiling, probably due to the bottling strength, and came very close to getting too woody. Detecting distinct distillery characteristics is probably a fool's errand with this one. Still, it would make a very pleasant summer malt. Subtle and comfy, it's the sort of whisky I could picture drinking way too much of while grilling in the evening. But it's now nearing $400 in auctions and twice(!) that at retailers, so I'll just stick to a pilsner and Malort.

Availability - See above
Pricing - See above
Rating - 84