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A while back I bought myself a bottle of GlenGrant's 10 yr single malt whisky. I've done quite a bit of research on it and all the reviews I read were raving about how great it was. Hell, Jim Murray himself gave the whisky 95 points in his Whisky Bible. So, feeling rather confident I got myself a bottle (I live in New Zealand so the bloody thing cost me $70). Being a Speyside whisky I could immediately identify the general characteristics; it was light and sweet with a few fruity notes thrown into the mix. However, the more I drank it the more it tasted like a young blended scotch and not the high and mighty 10 yr single malt it was advertised to be.
With any blended whisky I've personally always noticed a strong ethanol fuelled oak impression on the nose, a spicy acetone on the palate and a sour and bitter lingering finish near the very end. If I was to undergo a blind taste test I am confident that I would conclude that the GlenGrant was a blend and not a single malt. I don't mean to brag, but my palate is definitely not on the amateur level so I'm confident that my diagnosis on this whisky isn't mislead or exaggerated. But I just wanted to know, for all the single malt lovers on this forum who have had this whisky before, what is your review and thoughts on it?
@Furinkazan
I fished a bottle not long ago and thought it was a very good young Speysider. I didn't pick up the blend notes you described, and I gave it 4 out of 5 stars, which would be a solid "above average" by my thinking.
Glen Grant ages well, and I know some folks don't like it until it gets some additional age (16+ years). The 10-year-old is entirely matured in ex-bourbon wood, so maybe you are sensitive to the bitterness imparted by any old, refill casks that might have been included in the vatting for your bottle.
@Furinkazan
Some reviewers i don't trust as Jim Murray.
But one can check also the statistics in the whisky.com database what several people think about this whisky. And here the Glen Grant gets a value of 2,9 from 56 ratings. That is not that good for a single malt.
It received about 78 points on Whiskybase from 200 reviews, so that is in line with the 2.9 stars from Whisky.com.
I've wondered about this one, it's cheap at my local purveyor, I've always passed, personally I find ten year to be a bit young for Speysiders, most require 12-21 years to hit the sweet spot, 10 years it seems to be the magic number for peated Islay like Laphroiag, Ardbeg
“That's what I do. I drink, and I know things.” (Tyrion Lannister)
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