Glen Grant 1998
Style: Single Cask
Cask: #13215
Year of distillation: 1998
Bottled: 2021
Age: 24
Region: Speyside
Cask Type: Butt
No. of bottles: 602
ABV: 54.4%
Release: Winter 2021
Jonny McMillan
“This is my kind of whisky. No tomfoolery with fancy casks, no hiding immaturity behind peat, o bells, no whistles, just water, yeast, barley and delicate oak all working under the real master here; time. There’s simply no substitute for decades of aging in a gentle refill cask and allowing great quality distillate to shine.”
Tasting Notes
Glen Grant is one of Speyside’s stalwarts, consistently producing outstanding whiskies in its own subtle, understated way, this old sherry butt is a perfect example. The harmonious nose is a masterclass in maturation over wood-seasoning showing well developed distillate character; bruised apples, hessian, orange zest and aged desert wine. This theme drifts onto the palate with the oak very gently guiding more soft fruit notes over the palate. There’s a hint of wood smoke on the palate along with a little more fresh fruit. A great example of classy old distillate left to mature in a wonderfully inactive cask, turns out wood doesn’t always make the whisky.
Distillery
Glen Grant was the first distillery to be built in the town of Rothes, situated in the heart of Speyside. Its whisky is gaining greater appreciation among malt drinkers due to its longer-matured releases, spirits that have historically been unavailable.
Ronnie says: “Major Grant, the owner, was as much a legend in his day as Dennis Malcolm, the one-time Manager from the same distillery, is today. This wonderful dram was one of those which forged the path for Malt Whisky in the 1970’s with a particulalry strong partnership in Italy here it became that Nation’s favourite. It has long been a favourite of mine as well.”