Whisky: Glen Grant 16 Year (1954), Berry Bros & Rudd

Country/Region: Scotland/Speyside

ABV: 40%

Cask: Oak

Age: 16 Years (Distilled 1954, Bottled 1970)

Nose: Musty, overripe tropical fruits, black rock sugar, petrol and old rubber tires, discarded crushed sugar cane, grass and minerals, watch oil, dirty shop rags, and musty toolboxes.

Palate: Light-bodied, industrial with overripe tropical fruits— pineapple tinning operation, petrol and dirty shop rags, green bamboo, grape skins, Reinette apples, metallic, dirty garage and old wood.

Finish: Medium to long and slightly drying with a kiss of fruit, minerals, and petroleum.

Score: 7-8 (86)

Mental Image: Grandma’s Secret Garage Distillation Lab

Narrative & Notes: The aroma was dirty, filthy even, with loads of musty garage, overripe tropical fruits, and grass. Sweet elements drifted alongside as if someone were running an illicit rum operation from their garage: freshly crushed cane, fermenting sugar wine, old petrol cans, rubber tires, and dirty shop rags. A touch of minerality developed with watch oil, old wood, and musty toolboxes. Light-bodied with petrol and green bamboo shoots— fresh, vegetal, and fruity with a dirty industrial side. An industrial tropical fruit cannery, perhaps? Old shop rags and toolboxes appeared from the metallic tinge that followed hints of grape skins and Reinette apples. Notions of grass and garages continued with old cardboard boxes and the oil stains under an old car. The finish was medium to long and slightly drying with a kiss of fruit, minerals, and petroleum.

Bottled over fifty years ago, I was not even sure whether to score something like this— I have given a “no score” a few times to particularly old whiskies. This Glen Grant came from another era, right in the post-war boom, when far more scotch featured perceptible peating, and flavors were sometimes wilder with more variety in yeast and barley types.

The profile of this Glen Grant was a small window to the past. If the whisky had a bit more weight or intensity on the finish, I could easily see scoring this as a 9 (90s), but it was a bit too tepid on the arrival and finale, even if the flavors were fascinating and delicious. The wife, who, as always, came to the whisky blind, also found it very unusual and split between giving it a 3/5 or 4/5 but generally felt positive about it.

Overall, a unicorn whisky and one that I initially poured to mark the arrival of some good news— what better way to celebrate than an unforgettable whisky?

Image Credit: Whisky Auctioneer