Glen Grant 10 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky, 70cl

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On the nose: Sharper and more acidic compared to the other three. A somewhat British image of tea with a slice of lemon and honey comes to mind. After it comes a creaminess like what I sometimes get with Cragganmore 12. A medium and lasting aroma of lemon square comes out, too. In between, there are very subtle aromas of melons, sapodilla, honey, butterscotch and orange peel oils. In the mouth: A bit of heat on the first sip. Like the nose, this is bursting with fruits. The heat comes out again but persists all to the end this time. I get light notes of kiwi, orange candy, starfruit, oleo saccharum and melon. After that are even lighter and shorter notes of tea, toffee and chocolate strawberries. Conclusions: Glen Grant is one of the top five bestselling Scotch single malt distilleries worldwide. The Campari Group acquired Glen Grant whisky distillery in 2006 for the princely sum of €115m from Chivas Brothers, then under Pernod Ricard ownership. Accordingly, Glen Grant is likely to be made substantially larger. At present, the Glen Grant distillery houses six stills and runs at near full capacity, which totals 5.9million litres per annum. However, with the proposed addition of a power plant nearby and a further eight stills, by 2010 the capacity could be as much as twelve million litres.

The oddest thing about this is the unavailability in more mature markets like the UK and US. At the time of writing this review, well-known online stores like The Whisky Exchange, Master of Malt, Total Wine and K&L Wines didn’t have this. Yet, local and AUS online stores have it. Maybe this hasn’t been launched in the EU and US yet? JM: The Glen Grant has not released a lot of cask-finished expressions. There was a Port cask finished from The Glen Grant a few years ago that was a distillery exclusive. There are also some expressions from the 1980s, like the Director’s Reserve, that, I believe, showed some Sherry influence. Are there other cask-finished expressions from The Glen Grant? Are you planning more cask-finished whiskies in the future?My focus is to help ensure we stay true to the tradition and heritage of The Glen Grant while also innovating for the future. One of my happiest changes has been expanding our family of whiskies, with the 15-year-old, 18-year-old, and now the 21. Stories about ‘The Major’ abound. A legendary innovator, socialiser and traveller, he lived by his own rules and set his own standards. New ideas fascinated him and he wasn't afraid to explore them. He was the first man in the Highlands to own a car. Glen Grant was the first distillery to have electric light. And he introduced the tall slender stills and purifiers which created the fresh malty flavour and clear colour that defines Glen Grant whisky to this day. DM: The Glen Grant continues to be one of the best-selling single malt brands in Italy, France, and Australia – and we find that the golden color and vanilla creamy notes typical of a bourbon cask are still beloved in many parts of the world. The style is lighter in color with a delicate profile but still quite rich and aromatic. In 1972, the Glenlivet and Glen Grant Distilleries Ltd amalgamated with the blending concerns of Hill, Thomson and Co.Ltd and Longmorn Distilleries Ltd to become The Glenlivet Distillers Ltd. The original family interest in the distilleries was maintained, with two substantial outside shareholders: Courage Ltd, the brewing concern and Suntory Ltd, the Japanese distilling company. On the palate, the whisky is sweet and fruity. There are notes of stone fruits, along with hints of tropical fruits of melon and mango. There are also caramel and some slight marzipan notes accompanied by custard-like notes of creamy vanilla.

A whisky with a lasting body that’s easy to drink. I had to let this breathe for around 30 minutes. Initially, it was just a big punch of acidity and green apples. DM: Our signature flavor profile – singularly aromatic with delicately fruity floral and nutty notes – is delivered in part by maturation in the best bourbon barrels, and we will continue to stay true to who we are. That said, The Glen Grant does mature beautifully in Sherry and other types of casks, which is why we use them for select releases. Also, many of our older whiskies were aged in ex-Sherry barrels, so it’s an influence we often see in our older releases. With the creation of the 21-Year-Old, as an example, we were seeking a specific flavor profile achieved by the marriage of ex-bourbon and specific ex-Sherry casks. The use of ex-bourbon and ex-Sherry casks has long been in the DNA of The Glen Grant. Was Campari just focused on their other brands? Did they emphasize other markets I knew less about? What factors do we not know of that resulted in a delay of their expanding markets? Regardless, it seems that their 18 year old’s place in Jim Murray’s top three whiskeys for consecutive years did wonders for their exposure. This resulted in the brand increasing in visibility… even in Manila, where the Scotch scene can be underwhelming.In 2006, Campari acquired Glen Grant, its only whisky, when Allied Domecq was acquired by Pernod Ricard. To this day, Glen Grant continues to be one of the biggest selling single malts worldwide. This cookie is set by Rubicon Project to control synchronization of user identification and exchange of user data between various ad services. By 1872, the founders of Glen Grant Distillery had died. Young James ‘The Major’ Grant, born in 1847, had always taken a keen interest in the distillery and having inherited the business and the title ‘Glengrant’ from his uncle John Grant, he was to prove himself a worthy successor. [4] Glen Grant Distillery In 1898, with demand rising, The Major built a second distillery across the road from Glen Grant but like so many constructed at this time it closed soon after (in 1902). Its maltings –which are claimed to have been the first pneumatic malting drums in the Highlands continued to supply the needs of its sister plant.

This is very different from the last Glen Grant 12 I had. Is batch variance to blame for this? Or has my palate changed since the last time? Though it might seem self-aggrandising to namea valley after yourself, John and James Grant were men of substance. John, though a respected landowner, is suspected to have had some ‘previous’ when it came to whisky making at the start of the 19th century. His brother James however was a pillar of the community. An engineer by trade, hebecame Lord Provost [mayor] of Elgin. The brothers joined to build what was then a massive distillery in 1839. They were alsofar-sighted enough to realise that large-scale whisky production would flounder if transport links were not established. It was thanks to them (James in particular) that a rail line was built from Lossiemouth to Elgin, while in 1858 they paid personally for the extension of the route south to their base in Rothes.The version being reviewed here is the 12 Year Old, which is bottled at 43% alcohol by volume and is chill filtered. Glen Grant offers a second version of this 12-year-old single malt, which is non-chill filtered and exclusive to travel retail. Both versions are relatively new to the market, having been launched along with an 18-year-old single malt in mid-2016. Tasting Notes: Glen Grant 12-Year-Old I only sensed a small amount of sherry influence in this. Aside from the burst of PX-like aromas, the sherry characteristics in this are subtle. This doesn’t seem to be that different from the Major’s Reserve in that it’s mostly refill ex-bourbon casks. I say so because I think the fruity flavors come from the distillate’s character, rather than the influence of the oak. The sherry influence has added an extra layer of flavor, but I also feel like it took away some flavors. On the other hand, this could just be a Major’s Reserve finished in ex-sherry casks. The light sherry influence makes it taste generic, but I get that this was probably made to cater to contemporary preferences for ex-wine influence in spirits. Glen Grant distillery was founded in 1840 in Rothes, Speyside, and produces single malt Scotch whisky. Records the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie. This is the deepest dive I’ve done on the brand so far. Currently, I have no strong opinion about it. Despite seeing some really well aged and reasonably priced independently bottled (IB) Glen Grants in the past, I’ve never tried any. Among the original bottlings, I’ve only tried the 12.