Glen Grant 24 Year SMWS 9.170 “Australian Outback”
Whisky : Glen Grant 24 Year SMWS 9.170 “Australian Outback”
Country/Region : Scotland/Speyside
ABV : 53.7%
Cask : 22Y Ex-Bourbon, 2Y 2nd Fill American Oak PX Hogshead
Age : 24 Years (Distilled 25 April 1995)
Nose : Fruity and exotic. Dried goji berries, dragonfruit, and sour green apples opened up right away. Earthy decay of a hothouse flower garden and wet maple leaves. Sweet sugars wafted out with a few drops of water along with fresh strawberry shortcake and pears.
Palate : Medium bodied with a bright crisp profile and oily mouthfeel. Loads of dried berries and cinnamon spice at first, then the body transitioned toward a meaty, almost iron-like, and faintly salty finish. One taster recalled the copper-top battery notes on some Springbank while other settled on gamey deer meat. A bit of water brought out more caramel and cinnamon apple pie.
Finish : Lingering salt brined fruits.
Grade : 6
Mental Image : Venison Pie
Notes : I wanted to like this more than I did— an older Glen Grant with a refill sherry finish? That sounds right up my alley. While I did enjoy this and thought it struck a nice balance between cask and malt, it did not have the thickness or meaty finish that I was hoping for, especially after reading the SMWS tasting notes which referenced exotic flavors like Kangaroo meat. Maybe this did taste like Kangaroo, I honestly would not know, though it did certainly have an iron or gamey note to it.
The nose on this was quite wonderful with a whole array of exotic fruit and flower garden notes. The palate was a bit simpler and water took things in a direction I did not care for. Overall, this was a bit too dry for my taste, though it did have a lot of interesting things going on. I would happily order a pour of this if I saw it and nothing else caught my eye, but I would not go out hunting it down. I suspect this would appeal more to bigger fans of Glen Grant, or even people who like the faint copper/battery funk in Springbank.
