Glen Grant 11 Year (1997), SMWS 9.44 "Chuck away the cork"
Whisky: Glen Grant 11 Year (1997), SMWS 9.44 "Chuck away the cork"
Country/Region: Scotland/Speyside
ABV: 59.4%
Cask: Refill Hogshead
Age: 11 Years (Distilled April 1997, Bottled April 2008)
Nose: Fruity and peppery, orchard fruits, tropical fruits, banana candies, chutney and chai spice, cardamon; raw and spirited.
Palate: Medium to full-bodied, semi-creamy, fruit candies, banana candies, chair spice, cardamon, medicinal herbs, cherry, artificial cherry.
Finish: Medium to short and drying with artificial cherry and more subtle chai tea.
Score: 6 (78)
Mental Image: Cherry Chai Spiced Cough Drops
Narrative & Notes: The horn of plenty disgorged kiwis, oranges, cherries, green apples, and banana runts candies from its wicker body. Mango chutney and chai spice filled the air with plenty of cardamon fronting cinnamon, black pepper, and hints of clove. Peppery and spirited, the aroma was a touch raw and youthful. Medium to full-bodied and weighty on the palate with banana runts candies leading toasted chai spice. Cardamon, pepper, brown sugar, cinnamon, and masala carried on as orange rind and berry hard candies arrived alongside an emerging creaminess. Slightly medicinal at times, as the herbal and spice elements mixed with cherry— cherry cough drops anyone? The finish was medium to short and drying with artificial cherry and more subtle chai tea.
A touch raw and spirited, I cannot believe this refill hogshead was not in fact a second fill sherry hogshead. The fruitiness, especially the cherry quality, shouted sherry to me, but SMWS provided no further details that I could discern. I could not find any record of the info card that might have conveyed such additional information (the old bottles frequently came with a card, much of that is now on the bottle itself and easier to find online). This was interesting, especially the blend of spices and how they interacted with the fruitier quality, but it always felt a bit artificial.
Overall, fun and interesting— my wife liked it more than I did and scored it somewhere around second or third best during our local whisky group’s vintage SMWS tasting.
