Glen Grant 27 Year SMWS 9.104 “Lychee Martini”
Whisky : Glen Grant 27 Year SMWS 9.104 “Lychee Martini”
Country/Region : Speyside
ABV : 55.5%
Cask : Refill Ex-Sherry Butt
Age : 27 Year (Distilled 18 April 1988)
Nose : Opens with fresh berries, dark cherries, and plums. There are tons of dark rich fruit notes on the nose which are balanced against polished wood and a wood resin-epoxy note. Bits of crisp but slightly dry red apples and raw pecans come through as the dram opens up a bit and the bright berries at the onset turn more toward dried prunes and dates.
Palate : Medium bodied with the lovely fruity spice of fresh cracked pink and black peppercorns. The body tends toward the dryer side of the spectrum as the fruity notes are almost as if an overzealous citrus zester has grated a great deal of pith into your drink. The sherry driven fruits do shine through as rich dried stone fruits.
Finish : Medium to long, the dried fruit notes leave the impression of juice and sweet tobacco leaf.
Score : 6
Mental Image : Fresh Fig Tart
Something Better : D. Laing’s Rock Oyster 18Y (similar pepper/citrus, more maritime, more complex)
Something Similar : Arran Amarone Cask Finish (similar pepper/nutty astringency, more vanilla/floral)
Something Worse : Glen Grant 30Y SMWS 9.149 (much drier, more bitter, similar berries)
Notes : I heard from a number of participants at the whisky/cologne blending workshop that this was their favorite dram of the night. In fact one older gentleman, who look suspiciously like a lawyer from a late night TV ad, was desperate to buy a bottle. He just had to know how he could have this again and left a bit disappointed to hear that the organizer’s source for the bottle had been an auction some time ago.
The grade marks my own lukewarm feelings for the Glen Grant. It was a well aged single malt in a great refill cask whose influence remained in a beautiful supporting roll. I just do not get particularly hot and bothered by the rich fruit or wood notes that feature heavily on the palate. I thought the dram was just a bit too light, needed just a bit more body or viscosity or intensity to really go over the top and hit the next level. I thought it paired really well with macaroni and cheese— as have other older sherried SMWS Glen Grants— but I am not sure a $300+ bottle of whisky should need a $1 box of macaroni and cheese to really be enjoyable.
I think a lot of the tasters found this dram to be the most welcoming and balanced of the evening. There were no unusual flavors vying for prominence in the dram, the dark fruits were familiar, the sherry not too funky, bitter, or sulphuric, and the alcohol was just a bit lower and therefore easier to dive straight into. It was an eminently drinkable and friendly dram, packing more flavor than your typical drinker might encounter without sensory overload. The flavors fell in a nice narrow band of fruit and subtle spice that tasters could easily identify and enjoy.
It was a perfectly fine dram, though I thought it was much improved by adding a few drops of a peaty-salty Bunnahabhain to the glass to really round things out.
