I don't believe I've ever been blown away by a Glen Grant yet, but I remember a standard OB that I really enjoyed a while back. Word of mouth has it that the Glen Grant's maybe in need of a few more years on wood to develop an interesting character, than most other single malts. Maybe these ones will work out for me?
Glen Grant 18yo 1972-1990 46% Cadenhead's
One bottled back in the days when a lot of good casks still were diluted down to 40-46%abv. Nice golden brown color, big on the nose, prunes, dark grapes, dark chocolate, malt syrup, coffee and caramel. The taste is amazingly sweet, chilled sherry and radishes, earthy and herbal yet syrupy with caramel, honey and chili, amazing! No water please! The aftertaste is long, and it keeps on developing into a dry sherry style until the end. Fino style.
Maybe the top dog amongst GlenGrants so far: 8.5
Glen Grant 26yo 1974-2000 50.5% Scott's Selection
I'm not sure if I've tried a bottling from the Selection of Robert Scott yet, but I know I have a few lying around. I know they have a Fettercairn I'm looking forward to try. This one has a light golden color and is bottled at "natural cask strength" as the label states. Are there any "un-natural cask strength" or "artificial cask strength"? It smells much lighter than the Cadenhead's, no sherry influence, just some oak, vanilla and... no, wait a minute, there's no alcohol influence at all in the odor, even at 50+%abv. Maybe it needs water, but lets not jump to any conclusions just yet, I'll try it bare at first. Now I've waited about 15 minutes, but no improvement on the nose. The taste is oaky, minty, light, fresh, a summers dram, with no aftertaste. It'd be a perfect 30 quid 12yo OB for everyday enjoyment. But at this age and price I feel it should be a bit more assertive, let's add water. Now it opens up, same citric cidity, and sweet marmalade comes forth. The finish is of red onions and basil.
A massive improvement with water: 6.5
Glen Grant 38yo 1972-2011 52.8% TWA Grotesque Crocs
From a refill hogshead, matured over twice as long as the rather excellent 18yo Cadenhead's. Will it be twice as good? Or even at the same level? One of my small problems with TWA (the only one actually), is that they sometimes leaves the whisky to mature too long in cask. At least that's my opinion, as their whiskies always seems somewhat flawless, they also can come across as a bit dull and lacking what you'd call heart and soul, or character if you like. This one has a very mellow sherry-mark on the nose. It needs time to open up. After well 10 minutes there's some developing of fruitiness, red juices, watermelon, grapefruit, kiwis and raspberries. The taste is at first intense, sweet and sharp, flavors of berries and red bell peppers. Flawless, yet also a bit boring, needs a bit more punch and potency, lets add water. Now its still fruity, actually almost identical, and there's still very little or no aftertaste from this one.
Perfectly flawless summer malt: 7
Glen Grant 36yo 1973-2010 53.6% TWA Insects
Another one from the Whisky Agency, from a fresh sherry cask this time, although not any darker than the Grotesque Crocs. Shows that Ralfy maybe right, that color doesn't really tell you anything and its all a variation of "the color piss":). Anyway, to me its dark golden, or creamy cinnamon to be more reference-specific. The smell is burnt, a bit sulphury, dry rubber and burnt hair, rather unpleasant unfortunately. The taste is sweet and sulphury, bitter, not to my liking, a bit like chewing bitter leaves from different garden plants. Maybe water will help. Now it becomes even harder to swallow, one of the few TWA bottlings I've come across that actually makes me feel nauseated.
Rubbery and sulphury, sweet and grim: 2
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