Glen Grant is one of the older distilleries in Scotland, established in 1840, but it's one we haven't looked at too often. This distillery epitomizes the classic Speyside style: light, fragrant whiskies with fruity flavors, often matured in bourbon barrels. Here we have a single cask example from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, one which was aged for 12 years.
All of that 12 year maturation took place in a bourbon cask, and the cask strength/bottling strength at the end of that time is a pleasant 54.9% ABV. This bottling was released back around 2021, when the pricing on US releases from SMWS were a bit more reasonable; the price was around $95, and these days, it's pretty rare to see a Society bottling with a two-figure price tag.
SMWS 9.188 'Out of this World' - Glen Grant 12 Year
Scotland/Speyside - Single Malt
Price: USD 95 (2021)
Age Statement: 12 Years
Strength: 54.9% ABV
Cask Makeup: Refill ex-bourbon barrel
Details: Not chill filtered, no color added; distilled March 11, 2008; 205 bottles
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 1 month; bottles at 100%, 90%, and 80% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a nosing glass each time, rested 15+ minutes
Nose: Super malty - that note is very dominant. Sugary sweet notes of strawberry, wildflower honey, and vanilla arrive, and we get accents of bubblegum, honeycomb, hay, and flowers as well. It leans quite sweet overall, and there are soft gristy grain notes in the background.
Palate: The mouthfeel is medium-thick, and the texture is nice - juicy. This has a classic combination of strong malty character and a lot of fruity flavors; mango peel, passionfruit, tart pineapple, and bubblegum star, with accents of strawberries and cream, honeydew, and lychee. Brown sugar, vanilla, and soft oak accent that malty grain side, and we get a hint of guava and white cake at the end.
Finish: Sugary notes grow stronger - brown sugar, white sugar, vanilla, lots of malt. Sweet lemon and peaches bring back the fruit aspect, and we get a soft oak prickle, a sweet grassy note, and an effervescent peppery kick on the back end. It's nicely rounded but also still spirit driven; this is a medium length finish.
Final Note: This is just a classic example of the ex-bourbon matured Speyside single malt whisky - such a heavy emphasis on the malty side, somewhat reserved oak influence, and a plethora of fruits to dig into. It does lean relatively sweet for a single malt, and we get lots of baking notes to back that up as well. Actually, probably our favorite part of this whisky was the tropical side we found at the beginning of the palate - those mango, passionfruit, and pineapple notes were quite nice. Overall, it's a good whisky, if a bit middle-of-the-road.
Value here seems fair since the price was actually quite reasonable for a SMWS release. The Glen Grants that we've tried so far have very much been in the same vein of classic Speyside malts - nothing too daring or necessarily interesting - but if that's your favored profile, this type of single cask is a nice option to turn to.
Our Rating: 7.1 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 6.14
About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.
Check out our other Glen Grant reviews:
Review #702 - SMWS 9.278 'Breakfast, But Mostly Dessert' - Glen Grant 19 Year
