Whisky : Glen Grant 22 Year, Munro’s

Country/Region : Scotland/Speyside

ABV : 53.9%

Cask : Ex-Bourbon Barrel

Age : 22 Year (Distilled 26 July 1995, Bottled 30 Oct. 2017)

Nose :  Fruit, citrus, and fresh linens.  Clean and fresh, the aroma was gentle with notes of apple slices, pear, and fruit punch.  Subtle kiss of salt with herbal-floral notes of lemongrass, menthol, sunflower, and orange blossom oil.

Palate : Medium-bodied with notes of fruit, florals, and subtle salts.  Sliced Korean pears, plums, and creamy vanilla cream.  Salt and mineral notes led into menthol, sunflower, and rosemary which left the impression of bath oils, bath bombs, and bath salts.  Slightly bitter on the back palate with notes of green coffee beans, herbs, and cream.

Finish : Lingering floral bath oils and cream.

Score : 5

Mental Image : Cleopatra’s Bath Bomb Night

Notes : An intriguing Glen Grant, this had a remarkably similar profile and mood to the SMWS bottle, Cleopatra’s Bath time, though with a slightly less satisfying finish.  This was a bit odd as some of the slightly bitter notes at the end reinforced the subtle sensation of oily fragrant soap so that the impression of accidentally getting soap in the mouth took hold.  The impression of cleanliness and floral fragrant soap is not always bad when it sort of fades into a melange of different flavors, but the bitter finish brought the experience of accidentally tasting soap a little too close to home.

You might think that a 5 seems awfully high for something that reminded me of getting soap in my mouth, but besides that, I really thought this was quite enjoyable and interesting.  The similarities to the SMWS bottle were nice, though I did think the flavor profile was better when it was younger and a bit punchier.  Considering K&L retailed this 22 Year Glen Grant for just a hair over $100 the bottle was a pretty good value proposition— not the sort of deal that comes around very often.

Overall, this was a bit of a miss with me at turns, but still an enjoyable dram with some nice upside.  The quality to price ratio was good for a balanced twenty-year Glen Grant.

Image Credit : Whiskybase user Ancient