Whisky: Glen Grant 30 Year (1958), Gordon & MacPhail for Sestante

Country/Region: Scotland/Speyside

ABV: 40%

Cask: Oak

Age: 30 Years (Distilled 1958, Bottled 1988)

Nose: Fruit and wood, pink starburst, fruit punch, burning leaves, fall vegetation and moss, black tea, lacquered wood and antiques.

Palate: Light-bodied with fruit punch, cherries and lychee, gummy bears, black tea, mellow vegetation and old papers, dried leaves, mossy stones, hints of burning chimneys, a kiss of salt and char.

Finish: Medium-short and mellow with gentle fruit, black tea, and bell peppers.

Score: 6-7

Mental Image: Autumn Strolling

Narrative & Notes: The aroma was gentle and mild, with a fruit punch bowl full of cherries, lychee, grapes, and crisp red apples. Or maybe it was a pocketful of pink starburst to enjoy while strolling among fallen fall foliage with hints of sweet decay, moss, and wispy burning leaves. Lacquered wood and antiques developed with black tea in the background. Light-bodied, the flavors were vibrant with fruit punch, cherries, star fruit, and lychee gummy bears. Black tea and pear blossoms drifted over mellow, dried autumn vegetation, molasses biscuits, and old papers. Mossy stones dotted the autumn walkway with a kiss of salt and wispy chimney smoke in the air. The finish was medium to short with gentle fruit, black tea, and the fruity-vegetal aftertaste of bell peppers.

This vintage Glen Grant featured a lovely set of tropical fruits that immediately brought to mind pink Starburst candies— my favorite and the Starburst flavor I always saved for last. Clearly my wife and I were of one mind on this as she remarked that if children drank whisky, they would love this. She was as impressed as I was that the flavors were so present and vivid on this malt that spent just as long in the glass as in the cask. If only the finish were a bit stronger— it was mild and abbreviated— this would have been superb.

Overall, a brilliantly fun whisky to try and not a bad set of flavors. My wife, who tried it blindly, as she does everything, gave it a 3/5 “not bad.” She reckoned it was not her cup of tea even if she found a lovely nostalgia to the flavors, which reminded her of autumn visits to apple orchards and walks among the leaves with her family.

Theme: End-of-Year Favorites

The theme this December 2023 is cleaning the house, and the reviews posted this month are either things I did not get a chance to slide into a theme week earlier this year, drams I have poured to celebrate the holidays and end of the school year, or as part of our online whisky group’s mystery dram advent calendar. These are posted in no particular order!

Image Credit: WhiskAuctioneer