Whisky : Glen Grant 16 Year SMWS 9.179 “Cleopatra’s bath time”

Country/Region : Scotland/Speyside

ABV : 54.9%

Cask : First Fill Ex-Bourbon

Age : 16 Years (Distilled 11 Sept. 2003)

Nose : Floral, fruity, and slightly salty.  Bath bombs, bath salts, and bath oils— this was loaded with the sort of relaxing soft creamy-floral notes I want at bath-time.  Dried flower petals, orange blossoms, patchouli, and mint.  Waxy fruits developed with time and a few drops of water.

Palate : Medium bodied and oily with a lovely bright crisp profile of waxy fruits and fresh cut florals.  Tangerines and limes popped right away with a lovely waxiness and subtle notes of salt and vanilla.  A pleasant maltiness built with ginger lemon shortbread cookies and soda biscuits.  Herbal notes lingered on the back palate.  Bit of water brought forward creamy shea butter, cinnamon, and a nice pepper bite.

Finish :  Lingering citrus rinds and subtle salt.

Score : 7

Mental Image : Friday Night Bath Bomb

Notes : I totally get what SMWS was going for with the name on this one— it's beautifully evocative and a great encapsulation of the subtle friendly profile.  I am not sure I quite get the milkiness of the bath concoction that Cleopatra and Mediterranean elites may have used.  Though, this might also be a reference to the 1963 film “Cleopatra,” which had a bathing scene that— at the time— likely made quite the impression on the young lads and ladies who are now christening SMWS bottles.  

Tasting this blind, I actually thought it was a Clynelish with the beautiful mix of waxy fruits and almost tropical florals.  This was wonderfully complex and not only did it remind me of a relaxing candle lit bath, it was the perfect sort of dram to take to the tub.

Overall, this was a wonderful Glen Grant— perhaps one of my absolute favorites.  I missed a chance to get a bottle of this for myself and if given the chance I would go back and grab one.  This benefited from a few drops of water to smooth things out, but the dram also developed beautifully with just some time to breath.  While I scored them the same, compared to the other Glen Grant I reviewed a couple of days ago this one has a slight edge.  They were really quite different drams, but this one hit much closer to the sort of notes I look for any given night of the week.

Image Credit : smwsa.com