Glen Grant 40yo 1973 Samaroli #6588 vs Glen Grant 31 yo 1970 #1025 Samaroli
Those contemplating a visit to Speyside should certainly factor in a visit to Glen Grant. The grounds are large and carefully laid out with a horticulturalist’s zeal. There is a distillery cafe and a burn runs through the middle of it. Pretty bridge, reservoir and old stone houses make choice photo ops.
But if you are at Glen Grant it is the stills that are really worth a visit:
These are very unusual stills by any measure. The wash still have distinctive squarish-domed reflux balls and a S kinked lyne arm, while the spirit stills have the tiniest bump of a reflux ball and are something like half the size of the wash stills. Both stills have purifiers with a pipe leading back to the still that has another very large S kink in it. One look at any unnamed picture and these can be no other than Glen Grant’s stills.
And what effect is intended by these odd stills? Glen Grant is generally known for a light fresh and clean whisky, at least from the mid 70s onwards, a style which made it the number 1 selling whisky in Italy.
Glen Grant 40yo 1973 Samaroli #6588 45%
Nose: A characterful nose with loads of development. The spirit is unbowed by time and sherry – which makes me happy, sharp sting of bitter sap of greens and scraped zucinis mixed in with unripe plums. The chocolately sherried side grows and dried olives and golden raisins follow suit. Cracked leather and tobacco. So its still fresh despite the big overtures of sherry.
Palate: Good. Balance is great on the tongue. Big but not overbearing sweetness with a subtle ‘lighter’ mix of purple richness, dry oak, tobacco, grated nuts and cocoa powder; and balanced by the more sour and leafy-sappy spirit. Spirit still posseses a fair gingery kick, whilst the rich aromatics of the sherry notes really shine towards the finish. Might this be a refill cask?
Finish: Long, dry aromatic and grippy, and then keeps a long hold on the tongue with this astringent leafy-ness.
Glen Grant 31 yo 1970 #1025 Samaroli 45%
Nose: Full on sherry maturation. This one is all about the wine, but it’s still rather subtle, more sit down aromatic than rambunctious richness. Dry aromatics, ancient wood, cocoa nibs and fragrant bark, the darkest of dried fruit, dried out licorice root, parched leather jackets. And some kind of wood used in perfumes.
Palate: Ah here it shows thicker tannins and the bitter pucker of some chinese medicine. Lots of woody notes actually, dried roots and burnt nuts. Something like musty cigar room. Somewhat thin in terms of body weight despite these very expressive aromatics, and it feels like the spirit caved to the wine years ago.
Finish: Long but tannic woody and bitter herbals. Unless you like old sherry and wood, then it’s heavenly.
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