Country: Scotland
Brand: Grant’s Family Reserve
Type: Blended Whisky
Age: NAS. I think between 3 and 8-year-old whiskies are used for this blend.
Alcohol: 40%
Tasting Date: 30/09/2011 + 21/12/2013
Colour: Light Golden Brown
Nose: Slightly Sharp Grain Alcohol at first and then slowly some Nuts, Dried Fruits and light Smoke. Oak and sweet Grain after a while. Plums and a little Malt as well. I believe that Speyside whiskies are dominant in this blend and I suspect a high young grain whisky content.
Taste: The delivery is a bit sharp at first with more Oak and Spice than I expected after nosing. I find lots of Grain, Green Wood and Pepper as well as some Toffee and Brown Sugar.
Finish: Short, Sugary Sweet and slightly Bitter. Not much going on really
Rating: 72
Nose: 18,5 - Taste: 18,5 – Finish: 17 - Overall: 18
General Remarks. This blend that is highly praised by Jim Murray in his whisky bible contains some 25 grain – and malt whiskies. The basis is the grain whisky Girvan.
I added a few drops of water, which surprisingly brought a bit more chewy Malt to the taste and also a slight nutty bitterness. You can try it put both ways or add some ice-cubes.
Drinking Experience Neat: Average/Below Average
Drinking Experience on the Rocks: Okay
Conclusion: Grant’s Family Reserve has received some excellent notes in the press but I can’t see why. It's a simple and boring Blend.
Update: I have tasted this blend various times after September 2011 and with time the bottle opened up a bit. The palate became more mellow and some leather could be detected in the finish that was not as poor as it was in the first week I opened the bottle. As a result, I have upgraded Grant's Family Reserve from 68 to 72 points. The latter results were confirmed in a December 2013 tasting.
Jan van den Ende September 2011/December 2013
