Country:
Scotland
Brand:
Grant’s Blended Scotch Whisky
Bottled
by William Grant & Sons, Dufftown
Type:
Blended Whisky
Age:
12 Y
Alcohol:
40%
Date:
07-07-2012
Colour:
Pale Gold
Nose:
First impressions are Peat, Malt, Oak, Vanilla, Grains/Biscuits and a tad of
Leather. There’s some Alcohol present so you have to find your way around it to
detect some Fruit (Orange Zest, Peach, Apple and maybe Mango or Pineapple).
Taste:
Rather sweet with Honey, Milk Chocolate, Malt, Cereals, Orange Zest and Spices
like Pepper and Nutmeg.
Finish:
Middle-Long and not as sweet as the Palate would want you to believe. Grains, Malt,
Cinnamon and Nuts (Almonds).
When
adding a few drops of water you eliminate most of the Alcohol on the Nose while
releasing more Malt, Vanilla, Biscuits and Tropical Fruits. On the Palate the
Spices are less present. The Finish reveals a bit more bitter Grain. You can
play with a bit of Water without overdoing it of course.
Rating: 81
Nose: 21 - Taste: 20 – Finish: 20 – Overall: 20
General
Remarks: This Blend is produced for
the Family-Owned William Grant & Sons Ltd by their Master Blender Brian
Kinsman (formerly David Stewart). It contains 50% Single Malts and 50% Grain
Whiskies. (Girvan Distillery – see Picture above). It matures for at least 12
Years in Oak Casks before being finished for another 6 months in First Fill
American Oak. William Grant & Sons are also the owners of Glenfiddich and
the Balvenie so we may assume that these Malts are part of this Blend.
Drinking
Experience Neat: Good
Drinking
Experience on the Rocks: Quite Nice.
Conclusion:
This is a much better Blend than the Family Reserve, that’s for sure. There is
nothing challenging here but it’s a well-balanced all-rounder that will please most
people. It’s not quite interesting enough to drink it neat on a regular basis in
my opinion but on the Rocks you can’t go wrong with this Blend.
Jan
van den Ende July 2012
