Mystery Malt Glen Grant: elegant at 26 years of age
The Thompson Brothers are rapidly becoming everybody’s favourite independent bottler, and a batch of releases most of us look forward to are the Mystery Malt bottles. You get a black bottle with a big white question mark on it, and then you just have to unwrap the lead to see what you got. Some friends of my went all in, and bought a whole load of these mystery bottles. In it, there were a lot of interesting distilleries, ages and cask variations. Spread out over the next few weeks, I will slip in this or that sample into the proceedings here on Long Pour Amour.
Today, we taste a single malt of respectable age! Not bad to kick off the week with, eh?
Glen Grant 26 years old, bottled at 48,5 % abv by Thompson Brothers
First things first: There are 147 bottles for batch 3 of the Mystery Malt series. Refill hogshead.
Upon Sipping: Like walking in a candy store with this Glen Grant! Lots of sugary delight on display, just grab a bag and fill up for a few coins. But taking a deep sniff will make your dentist unhappy, because this predicts a lot a plaque on the teeth! With repeated returns to the glass, I might pick up some faint garden flowers, but the vanilla induced flavours speak volumes. On the tongue, it becomes a more floral specimen indeed, with lots of lavender and a ton of wood. The body is fragile, there is no denying that, and it is almost unbelievable that this is Glen Grant, with its strong spirit that takes heavy sherry maturation so well. Still, what remains is a distinct Speyside malt that has lost power along the way, but shows elegance at old age. It moves dangerously close to soapy territory, which gives me the shivers. Let’s see if it indeed crumbles into soap blocks when we add some water. The nose reveals some more fruitiness, which is a plus, mostly yellow apples. The taste recovers, with some barley notes that are welcome, and the soapiness is actually pushed back sufficiently. What remains is a summery dram, to enjoy even with some ice cubes.
Word to the Wise: Rather austere and lacks complexity at this respectable age, but still has something to offer. I do feel a bit underwhelmed, I have to say.
Score: 84 points.