The Glen Grant 10 years old whisky has won the Scotch Single Malt of the Year (Multiple Casks) for 2016 and also won the top Scotch 10 Years and Under (Multiple Casks) ranking for the past couple of years according to the Jim Murray whisky bible ranking system. Jim was so impressed he gave it a score of 96! The highest score he has ever given was 97.5! That is of course this opinion however… it does drum up my curiosity and hence this review!
So let us start off with a little about the distillery! Located in Rothes, Speyside, founded in 1840 by brothers James and John Grant and then passed on through their descendant Major James Grant. This started the legend of the legendary inventor, socialiser and traveler, “The Major” who was the first man in the highlands to own a car and the Glen Grant distillery was the first distillery to install an electric light! I think his one of the male figures on the front label logo.
Google Maps view of Glen Grant Distillery with my added commentary!
Considering Speyside having arguably the highest concentration of whisky distilleries in the world, Glen Grant has done very well to fend off the competition and excelled in being one of the bestselling malts in the world.
The distillery has 8 pot stills and a total of 6.2 million litres capacity making it also one of the biggest distilleries in Scotland. Around 50% of production goes to other blended whisky distilleries and in particular Chivas Regal (previous owner). The casks used for the Chivas Blends are immediately transported offsite for maturation in Chivas warehouses and the ones left are kept in one of 8 warehouses Glen Grant has on site.
Surprisingly to me Italy is the biggest market for Glen Grant Whiskies (in particular the 5 year old Malt). The Italians loved it so much that in 2006 the Italian Campari Group purchased the distillery for £115m and started expanding its distribution to France, Germany, Spain and Sweden.
The Glen Grant Range consist of: The Major’s Reserve (NAS), 10 years and a 16 years and a number of limited edition ones.
Tasting Notes from their Website:
NOSE: Medium/Dry with a good balance of ripe orchard fruits.
PALATE: Creamy, fruity
FINISH: Intense, fruity
Cask: Ex Bourbon
ABV: 40%
Link: Glen Grant 10 years
My personal experience indicated a typical Speyside light nosing, creamy, soft and fruity taste with a surprising long finish for a 10 year old. Also very smooth… very surprised with the amount of flavour it has for such a “young” whisky. Wow… it’s good for what it is! its not complete, lacking a bit on all fronts but a good Speyside whisky! ! It’s definitely a “light” whisky one for the beginner or could even be used for a cocktail! I would consider it an “everyday whisky”
Currently the price will range from $50 to $61 AUD, however from my records I did purchase mine for around $45 AUD. So let us be generous and put it in the below $50 category. If this is the case then I would need to agree with Jim Murray, that for a whisky under $50 and considering it’s a 10 year old, I have not tasted one that is within its class.
I would definitely recommend this whisky to a person who hasn’t tried Speyside whiskies or someone just getting into whiskies, its good value and teaches you allot about the Speyside whisky character.
Taste: 7.4
Price: $
Cost per shot: $2.14
Rarity: Supermarket Easy!
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May 2016
- May 4, 2016 Ardbeg Uigeadail May 4, 2016
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April 2016
- Apr 22, 2016 Glen Orrin 30 Years Apr 22, 2016
- Apr 15, 2016 Hakushu 12 Years SMW Apr 15, 2016
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March 2016
- Mar 28, 2016 Nikka Coffey Grain Whisky Mar 28, 2016
- Mar 22, 2016 World Whiskies Awards 2016 Mar 22, 2016
- Mar 18, 2016 Glen Grant 10 Years Mar 18, 2016
- Mar 11, 2016 Sullivans Cove French Oak Cask Mar 11, 2016
- Mar 4, 2016 The Macallan 12 years Sherry Cask Mar 4, 2016
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February 2016
- Feb 26, 2016 Monkey Shoulders Blended Malt Feb 26, 2016
- Feb 19, 2016 Whisky 101 - Understanding the Label Feb 19, 2016
- Feb 12, 2016 Amrut Fusion SMW Feb 12, 2016
- Feb 8, 2016 Lagavulin 16 Years Old Feb 8, 2016
- Feb 7, 2016 The Yamazaki Single Malt 12 years old Feb 7, 2016