Glen Grant 12 year old, bottled in the 1970s

(Glen Grant cluster homepage)

The contemporary portion of this Glen Grant series is now over, having ended on a bitter note. The cluster now leaps back to the distillation days before Seagram's took over, but after the Grants merged with Glenlivet Distillers. All the stills were direct-fired with coal back in these days. Hundreds of thousands of cases of five year old Glen Grant were being sold in Italy, and the Gordon & MacPhail company was filling sherry casks with the Rothes spirit for their own warehouses.

In fact, G&M and the distillery were using the same label design for their Glen Grant bottlings during this period. So I'll be honest, I don't know who bottled today's whisky.

The official 5yo used this same design, as did G&M's 15. And both companies used the blue-gray oval on their 12 year olds.

But I do know this mini was bottled in 1977 or earlier due to "U.S. Internal Rev." appearing on the American tax stamp. AND I know this is Glen Grant. So, Salute!

Distillery: Glen Grant

Region: Speyside (Rothes)

Ownership at time of distillation: The Glenlivet and Glen Grant Distilleries
Age: at least 12 years

Maturation: ???

Bottling date: 1977 or earlier

Exported to: U.S.A.

Alcohol by Volume: 43%

Oh. From the nose one could think this was well over 50%abv. It's enormous. Orange peels, peaches and lychees in a dunnage. Grapefruit and floral junmai sake. Wet wool, weed smoke, dried sage and spent motor oil. No, I did not dilute this.

A toffee sweetness meets bitter herbal liqueurs in the palate. Pumpernickel, yellow nectarines, soot, wasabi. Just a hint of metallic OBE. After 30 minutes, pears and grapefruits roll in. Maybe a touch of Cracker Jack.

Cigarettes, soil, wasabi and yellow nectarines linger and linger and linger in the finish.

I was unprepared for this. I mean, I had hoped it would be good. But the quality here, at this age, at this strength, is remarkable and baffling. My tasting notes are bit short here because I was so consumed by the whisky.

What have we lost?

Of course one could expand that question far beyond Glen Grant and whisky in general. But for this moment, I'm going to focus on single malt. Perhaps Springbank, Benromach or Ben Nevis could approach this style today. But at this age? I don't know. At this strength? Absolutely not. Beyond those three distilleries (or maybe even including them), single malt producers have changed barley sources, yeast strains, still-firing methods, filtration, cask management and cask storage in the past several decades. Is whisky even the same fluid it once was? I'm not saying all old whisky is better than current whisky. But there's nothing like this at 12 years and 43%abv anymore.

The old Glen Grant portion of this series starts strong.

Availability - Actually, this era's minis can still be found in auctions
Pricing - ???
Rating - 91

Glen Grant 25 year old 1988 SMWS 9.84

(Glen Grant cluster homepage)

Of course there has to be an SMWS sample in the bunch! For a bottler I criticize so consistently, SMWS sure does have a considerable presence in my sample collection.

The first six Glen Grant cluster whiskies were distilled during the 1990s, when the distillery transitioned fully to indirect steam heated stills. But in 1988, when today's whisky was distilled, the wash stills were still being coal fired.

This is the cluster's second sherry cask whisky. The first one's cask was a bit, well, dead. Let's see if there's more action in this one.

Distillery: Glen Grant

Region: Speyside (Rothes)
Ownership at time of distillation: Seagram's
Independent Bottler: Scotch Malt Whisky Society
Age: 20 years (18 April 1988 - 2014)
Maturation: refill ex-sherry butt

Cask#: 9.84
Outturn: 534 bottles

Cask "name": Playing ‘Sea Battle’ in the garden
Alcohol by Volume: 55.6%
(thank you to Brett for the sample!)

The floppy, messy nose begins with peanut dust and sawdust. Old Spice aftershave, cucumber skin and a hint of kelp. It's very floral, almost like perfume. More peanuts, burnt peanuts appear once the whisky is reduced to 46%abv. The floral notes become gentler, while lettuces replace the cucumber notes. A bit of fudge in there too. Reducing it to 40%abv tones down the burnt peanuts while emboldening the flower and veg notes, with peppercorns, green apples and orange pixy stix in the background

The palate is all peanut dust and bitter oak at first. Lots of pepper. Cardboard sprinkled with kelp granules. Notes of lemon and almond butter arrive, eventually. Some potpourri too. Diluting it to 46%abv sweetens it up, but it remains tannic and bitter. There's a strong synthetic fibrous note and a vague hint of sour fruit. Diluting it further to 40%abv brings out a lot of vanilla and caramel, as well as hints of lime and black pepper. The sweetness remains, as does a little bit of the bitter oak.

All that bitter oak carries over to the finish. Metal and pepper in the midground. Sour citrus and marzipan in the back. Reducing it 46%abv doesn't help matters. It's all burnt peanuts and mushy peas. It gets sweeter at 40%abv, but can't let go of the palate's bitter oak and black pepper.

I considered dumping this whisky out. The burnt peanut note, man. Ugh. Then bitter staves, cardboard and perfume. It just kept checking off all the wrong boxes. Though I wouldn't exactly call it "good" at 40%abv, that was the point where it clawed its way out of the depths into something drinkable. Perhaps it could improve with additional water. Or not.

The term "refill ex-sherry butt" has lost its meaning. Each year independently-bottled single casks hit the market that are dark chocolate-colored and winey or pinto grigio-tinted and raw, yet both have the "refill ex-sherry butt" designation on the label. So who knows what happened with this cask, but I couldn't find any Glen Grant within.

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - ???
Rating - 74 (with lots of dilution, 5-8 points lower when neat)

Assessing the Glen Grant cluster at the halfway point

With the intent to make this series more than just a string of reviews, I am pausing at the halfway point of this Glen Grant cluster to assess the whiskies thus far. One more contemporary Glen Grant will follow this post, and then we're off to a different era of this Rothes distillery.

Three of the first six bottlings were very spirit-forward, two had minor oak influence and one, the first, had a vibrant but well-balanced cask. Though one of the whiskies came from an ex-sherry butt, it was an inactive cask, so the six whiskies were mostly on the same general playing level.

---

So far...

Here are nose notes that appeared in more than two reviews:

Apples - 4
Barley - 4
Citrus (Orange x2, lemon, lime) - 4
Florals - 3
Stone fruit - 3
Yeast/wort - 3

As expected there were a lot of barley spirit-based notes, nothing very oaky. No dried fruit, no vanilla.

Here are palate notes that appeared in more than two reviews:

Citrus - 5 (Limes x4, lemons)
Bitterness - 4
Pepper - 4
Apples - 3
Mineral - 3
Nuts - 3
Sweetness - 3

Lots of citrus and apples again, but also some edgier characteristics.

Here are finish notes that appeared in more than one review:

Citrus - 4
Bitterness - 4
Mineral - 3
Apples - 2

Not much in the way of repetition here. Most of the finishes were limited in complexity and length, which (I think) demonstrates the limits of multi-refill casks and limited maturation time.

---

Looking at these notes. a few things come to mind. Either these results are a confirmation that these were consistently reserved casks, or these are the sort of notes my senses tend to find first and frequently. (I could spout my whisky CV right now in order to convince you of some level of sensory depth I may possess, but you've made it this far with me, so what the hell, let's keep going.) These are not baby whiskies. The youngest is 13 years old, though a 16 or 20 year old may read the most youthful. So, I believe I lucked into mostly refill casks which have brought me closer to a citrusy, apple-y spirit with mild mineral and bitter herb notes.

It took a lightly-peaty cask to shake the selection up a bit, and I'm thankful for it. Perhaps that 22 year old isn't representative of 1990s Glen Grant, but that variant highlighted the styles of the previous five.

Next week, I'll begin with a Glen Grant distilled in the late 1980s for one last look at a contemporary whisky, and then we're going back in time.

Glen Grant 22 year old 1992 Single Malts of Scotland, cask 35936

(Glen Grant cluster homepage)

The first two 1992 Glen Grants from this week demonstrated both the benefits and limits of refill cask maturation. Today's '92 was aged in a smaller vessel, a barrel, for two more years. I tried the three of these single malts side-by-side, and in the game of "Which One of These Doesn't Belong" this 22yo would be the choice. In a good way.

Like the other two samples this week, this whisky arrived at my house courtesy of a certain Renaissance blogger. Thank you again, sir.

Distillery: Glen Grant
Region: Speyside (Rothes)
Ownership at time of distillation: Seagram's
Bottler: Specialty Drinks Ltd (now Elixir Distillers)
Series: Single Malts of Scotland
Age: 22 years (13 March 1992 - 25 March 2014)
Maturation: bourbon barrel

Cask #: 35936
Outturn: 222 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 57.8%
(thanks to My Annoying Opinions for the sample!)

Not only is the nose bigger and bolder than the other two '92s, but it's......earthy, earthy to the point wherein it reads like one's romantic vision of old school Highland malt. There's some yeasty wort and savory broth. A good dose of peach juice, with a hint of dunnage. Diluting it down to 46%abv brings out more hay and soil. Some hot metal and hints of pears in the background.

The palate also has more oomph, showing off minerals, citrus oils and an assortment of roasted nuts. The nose's earthiness tilts more towards a mix of soil and ash here. It seems to gain a creamier mouthfeel with time, while also gaining a good herbal bitterness. Reduced to 46%abv, the palate gets sweeter and ashier, while also feeling more pulled together, making it difficult for me to suss out separate parts.

It finishes with cracked pepper, minerals and a little bit of smoke. More limes and bitter herbs with time. Once diluted to 46%abv the finish loses its smoke but gains more tangy citrus.

This is, at minimum, tied for my favorite Glen Grant of the cluster so far. The smoky, earthy element brings a complexity missing from almost all of the other five GGs. The source of that note remains a mystery. MAO certainly found it, Whisky Magazine reviewers found it, a couple of the Whiskybase members found it, but Serge did not. Though Caperdonich distillery made peated runs, Glen Grant probably has not done so since it started sourcing malt in 1962. So perhaps the smokiness comes from the barrel's previous contents. Whatever it is, it works.

And on a totally obnoxious note, the Whiskybase community, Serge, MAO and I all gave this whisky the same score.

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - ???
Rating - 88

Glen Grant 20 year old 1992 Maltbarn, Release 12

(Glen Grant cluster homepage)

The saucy labels continue. Monday's whisky had a naked duck on its label. Today's had a purple flower. Purple, get it? Purple rhymes with curple (thank you, Robbie Burns), and curple is a horse's buttocks. Who knew this was going on among the German bottlers? I did!

Like yesterday's Glen Grant, this one is a 20 year old single cask distilled in 1992, but this one spent its maturation time in a sherry butt, a cask I assume Maltbarn split with someone else due to the tiny outturn.

Maltbran?

Distillery: Glen Grant
Region: Speyside (Rothes)
Ownership at time of distillation: Seagram's
Bottler: Maltbarn
Age: 20 years (1992 - 2013)
Maturation: sherry butt
Cask/Release: 12
Outturn: 109 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 54.1%
(thanks to My Annoying Opinions for the sample!)

The nose is mostly grass, honeydew, sour apple candy and the almond butter note, again. After 20 minutes it picks up caramel corn and toasted pecans. After 30 minutes, some plum skins sneak in. Diluting it to 46%abv brings out oranges, honey and toasted grains.

The palate delivers a good tart wallop, while mixing in sweet apples, and a pepper oil bite similar to the Whisky-Fässle 20yo. It does get raw and bitter at times, almost too much for this grumpy taster. A hint of Luxardo cherries saves it sometimes. It gets sharper, harsher when diluted to 46%abv. It's bitterer and tarter, with some mineral notes.

The finish is similar to the palate, but with some fabric and sweet citrus. Once reduced to 46%abv, it's sweeter than the palate, though there's a big horseradish bite mixed in.

The sherry and oak are nearly absent, which can be a great thing, but in this instance the cask seems almost neutral/inactive. The whisky's nose is very charming, and the finish mostly works, but the palate feels a bit half-baked. Dilution does not improve matters. One wonders what happened to the other 70-80% of the sherry butt.

MAO appears to have liked this Glen Grant a little more, while Serge held it in even higher esteem. Perhaps I would have enjoyed this whisky more under other circumstances, but it had some tough competition with Monday's and (especially) Friday's whiskies.

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - ???
Rating - 82

Glen Grant 20 year old 1992 Whisky-Fässle

(Glen Grant cluster homepage)

Years before other independent companies were splashing images of naked women on their whisky bottles, Whisky-Fässle was printing, get this, pictures of nude ducks on their labels. I'm not here to judge or anything, but ARREST THEM.

In less important news, the Glen Grant cluster has progressed to 20+ year old whiskies this week! Three Glen Grants from three different cask types. All were distilled in 1992, and all arrived in my stash thanks to one man with Opinions.

The first of these comes from the aforementioned Eros Anatidae series. I cannot include a picture of the label because riots have begun over lesser things, so here's a picture of the chaste sample:

Distillery: Glen Grant
Region: Speyside (Rothes)
Ownership at time of distillation: Seagram's
Bottler: Whisky-Fässle
Series: Ducks
Age: 20 years (1992 - 2013)
Maturation: bourbon hogshead
Alcohol by Volume: 50.4%
(thanks to My Annoying Opinions for the sample!)

The nose says we've got a spirity one here. Lychee, limes, green apples and barley dominate at the start. After a few minutes almond butter moves to the fore and stays there forever more. Hints of butterscotch, blueberries, ocean and rose petals drift through the background. It gets yeastier once reduced to 46%abv, and a bit cheesy. The fruit has retreated and only a hint of the almond butter remains.

The very easygoing palate begins with limes, apples, brown sugar and burlap. Some mild pepper oils bring balance, as does a tanginess that grows with time. Ocean and floral notes appear after about 30 minutes. It reads a bit leaner once it's diluted to 46%abv. Gentle fruit and sugar notes, bits of bitterness and florals.

I get a Pepto Bismol note in the surprisingly lengthy finish, and I can't quite explain that. There's also apple candy, tart citrus and a moderate metallic note. When diluted to 46%abv it becomes bitter and tart and slightly earthy.

This lands plop in the middle of the B grade range for me. It's fruity but balanced, quite drinkable. No weird oak notes. I do prefer it neat, which didn't surprise me since the ABV sits in a good spot for my palate. Yet there's nothing that would make me want to rush out and buy a bottle (had it not sold out 7 years ago). MAO and Serge gave it slightly higher scores, though our assessments are similar.

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - around €90 in 2013, I think
Rating - 85

Glen Grant 17 year old 1995 Duncan Taylor Dimensions, cask 85122

(Glen Grant cluster homepage)

This is the most recently distilled Glen Grant in the whole group and the one that's most likely from the indirect steam still system being used today. Whiskybase lists 115 Glen Grants from 1992, 28 from 1993, 11 from 1994 and 133 from 1995, so perhaps the stills were replaced between 1993 and 1994?

The cluster's first two Glen Grants were quite different in style, though they shared some characteristics, like sharp citrus and minerals. I have no idea where this cask will fall.

The bottler, Duncan Taylor, is better known by older whisky geeks as having The Great Stash of Caperdonich. Today's whisky is, of course, not a 1972 Caperdonich, but I thought I'd add some sentences here to pad out the intro.

Distillery: Glen Grant
Region: Speyside (Rothes)
Ownership at time of distillation: Seagram's
Bottler: Duncan Taylor
Brand: Dimensions
Age: 17 years (May 1995 - August 2012)
Maturation: either a bourbon barrel or hogshead
Cask #: 85122
Outturn: 226
Alcohol by Volume: 55.2%
(from a bottle split)

The clean but bold nose leads with apple skins, wort, tarragon, oregano and simple sencha. After about 20 minutes of air, new notes of brown sugar, cinnamon, puff pastry and a hint of jasmine blossoms appear in the mid- to background. Things get interesting once the whisky is reduced to 46%abv. Something fermented and fruity appears, like a yeasty peche or framboise lambic. The sencha note gets fainter, while the puff pastry drifts towards profiteroles. A little bit of toasted new oak spice shows up, but it stays mellow and in the background

The palate is tart, sweet and zippy like lime candy and ginger candy. Apples and barley. Cinnamon syrup and cherry bancha. It remains sweet and cheerful once diluted to 46%abv, still zesty but with new subtle floral notes. Then some raw ginger, praline pecans and cherry bancha.

It finishes with brown ale, tart apples and a squeeze of lemon juice. More citrus zests and flower blossoms arrive once the whisky is diluted to 46%abv.

Though the oak remains reserved throughout, this whisky is very different that Thursday's Glen Grant. While it's still youthful, this single cask reads sweet and pretty rather than lean and punchy. I really enjoyed the tea notes, since the whisky references gentle, savory cups rather than tannic beasts. This is the first of the Glen Grants I prefer with water, and it's the cuddliest one so far. The spirit seems lighter than the other two, and I wonder if the stills had switched from direct- to indirect-firing by this point. The result was certainly not a bad thing.

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - near €50 back in 2008
Rating - 86