Review by: The Muskox
I recently received a package of extremely old whiskies, most of which have been in glass for over 50 years. Here’s the first one.
Glen Grant is one of those Speyside distilleries that occasionally gets bottled at extreme ages. I once heard an industry insider say that the first 100-year-old single malt to be bottled will probably be a Glen Grant. This whisky samples that parcel of casks, but bottled at 21 years old in the early 1970s. The distillate here could therefore date to as old as 1949! This will be my first experience with single malt distilled this long ago, but given the rest of my recent shipment, it won’t be the last…
Distillery: Glen Grant.
Bottler: Gordon & MacPhail.
Region: Speyside.
ABV: 40% (70 Imperial Proof, as listed on the bottle).
Age: 21 years. Distilled in the early 1950s. Bottled in the early 1970s.
Cask type: Unknown, probably mostly refill sherry.
Price: N/A, sample.
Color: Light gold, with a bit of an amber blush. Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.
Nose: Wow, old school. There’s a cool fruit-and-floral sweetness – Pear skins, dried flowers, St Germain, tomato vines, melon, and a little dried mango. Mild vintage peat, with coal smoke and damp earthen basements. Washed-rind cheese, Camembert maybe, and some sourdough starter yeastiness. Limestone dust, silicone gel, and a hint of paraffin. Very little sherry, coming through as plum and red table grapes, as well as a certain resinousness. Wait, it’s Pez! The pink flavour!
Palate: Medium texture. Arrives subtly and rather sweet with green grapes, tangerine, cucumber, and yeast. Strong mineral notes in the middle, with that sweetness suddenly drying up. There’s strong oak following, but it doesn’t overpower. Chalk and oyster shells. The fragrance returns after the oak peaks – lilacs and cucumber.
Finish: Medium-long. Robust oak and old leather. Cool and vegetal – more cucumbers and tomato vine. Dusty and industrial – factory floors and greased tools. Almost a little ashy. More Pez. Strawberries and tannic table grapes.
Possible SMWS bottling name: “Basement classroom renovations”
Conclusion: No mistaking that for modern whisky. For spending 50 years in a bottle, this has held up very well. The nose completely blew me away from the first nosing – ridiculous complexity, old-fruit depth, and a plethora of vintage funks and mineral notes. Clouds of chalk, nose-tingling nearly-industrial notes, and that inexplicable sweet smell of elementary schools… hence the SMWS name. The palate and finish don’t quite measure up in terms of complexity, but there’s plenty of flavour, excellent structure, and lasting robustness. So much fun to drink.
Final Score: 88.
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Malt Runners 