Glen Grant Gordon & MacPhail Trilogy

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TASTING NOTES (by whiskyfun.com)

Glen Grant 1948 66 Years Gordon & MacPhail
We’re close to the record 70 years old that G&M have recently come up with (Mortlach and Glenlivet). The only 1948 Glen Grant I have tried until now had been blended with some 1961 in a ‘Royal Marriage’ bottling (Charles and Diana). Colour: full gold. Nose: the opposite of the Strachan, with much more roundness and a pretty beehive-y profile, which isn’t unusual in old Glen Grants. Beeswax, honey, pollen, old wood. What’s really striking is this ‘Indian’ side, with some cashew sauce, soft curry sauce, coriander, lemon basil… Also touches of coconut oil, which may suggest the butt was made out of American oak. The ‘Indian’ side is really fascinating, and very unusual (and wonderful.) Mouth: keyword is oaky balance. You feel the oak but you wouldn’t ask for less of it, which is a funny feeling. White pepper, quite a lot of eucalyptus, black Assam, white pepper, cinnamon, stewed peaches, honey sauce, chewing tobacco (as far as I can remember, I may have tried that thrice), then a little Greek retsina wine, certainly a little Chartreuse and lastly, notes of liquorice wood. It’s not often that ‘obvious’ oak tastes this good. A matter of balance indeed… Finish: rather long, a tad gritty now, with notes of chlorophyll and mint. Cough lozenges and cinnamon mints, then bitter oranges and pomegranates. Comments: a wonderful experience, unless you’re firmly against ‘obvious oak’. Loved the mentholated side – and hey, it’s more and more difficult to find whisky that’s older than this humble taster. SGP:471 - 91 points.

Glen Grant 1949 67 Years Gordon & MacPhail
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Glen Grant 1950 65 Years Gordon & MacPhail
A sister cask of the previous one, bottled at an incredible strength! Even if it was filled at 65% vol. (pure speculation) in ultra-tight oak – doubt it was hazel or chestnut - and then stored just under the roof in G&M’s warehouse in Elgin, a loss of only 4 to 5% ABV sounds totally incredible in Scotland. Unless this baby was matured in Kentucky, Bangalore, or Taipei, ha-ha. What’s sure is that this kind of rarity is super-interesting… Colour: deep gold. Nose: incredible indeed. It’s both old and young, which is a very funny feeling. Starts with tropical fruits, rather around papayas and bananas, and goes on with all things mentholy. A little terpenic, perhaps. What’s really beautiful is that tiny earthy touches tend to come out, I’d almost say to germinate. Tiny roots, watercress, moss, these small mushrooms that are so fragrant (do you know clitocybes? – no typo)… That’s really lovely. With water: more very subtle oaky and earthy tones. Our beloved pu-erh tea yet again, mossy wood… And yet it’s not musty as such. Some menthol and some pinesap for sure. Mouth (neat): bam! It’s not easy, a little acrid, very concentrated, oaky for sure, a little biting… Well it’s no toothless old malt, for sure. I think water’s obligatory. With water: changes a lot, becoming rounder, with some kind of old coconut liqueur, plenty of tea, Korean plum wine, cinnamon… There are small flavours that aren’t often found in malt whisky, even in very old ones. Finish: rather long, and, hurray, rather fruity. Barley wine (yes) and orange liqueur. The oak’s back in the aftertaste. Cinnamon mints, liquorice, lemon drops. Comments: quite a beast! Most interesting and good, you just need to have a Ph.D in Pipetting to fully enjoy it. And probably a little more time. SGP:561 - 90 points.

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