Brand: Girvan 1994 - Distilled on March 24, 1994
Bottled by: The Creative Whisky Company in 2017 - Bottles: 189
Series: The Exclusive Grains
Bottled by: The Creative Whisky Company in 2017 - Bottles: 189
Series: The Exclusive Grains
Type: Single Grain Single Cask Scotch Whisky - Cask # 605727
Age: 23 Years
Age: 23 Years
Alcohol By Volume (ABV): 53.8% - Cask Strength
Maturation: Sherry Hogshead
Chill Filtration: No
Price Range: Around US$ 100 (January 2021)
Price/Quality Ratio: 👍You won't find Single Malt Sherry Bombs at this price level
Buying Advice: 😐It's well-made but somehow it doesn't work for me
Colour:
Golden Amber (Natural Color)
Nose:
Maturation: Sherry Hogshead
Chill Filtration: No
Price Range: Around US$ 100 (January 2021)
Price/Quality Ratio: 👍You won't find Single Malt Sherry Bombs at this price level
Buying Advice: 😐It's well-made but somehow it doesn't work for me
Colour:
Golden Amber (Natural Color)
Nose:
Please give this Girvan enough time in the glass before Nosing. The initial waves of Varnish, Acetone, Glue and Alcohol need to calm down. This is the first time I'm nosing a Single Grain Whisky that matured in a Sherry Cask. As you will probably know, most Single Grains are matured in Ex-Bourbon casks. I have mixed feelings about this Sherry cask to be honest. On the one hand it adds lots of Sweet Red Fruit and Rum Flavors but it also tends to overpower the Girvan Spirit. Looking forward to hear your thoughts on this subject!
Main Aromas:
Toasted Cereals, Caramel, Vanilla, Demerara Sugar, Rum-soaked Raisins, Roasted Nuts, Plum Jam, Acetone, Varnish, Glue, Dark Chocolate, Caffe-Latte, Buttered Toast, Bounty Candy Bars, Cloves & Oak. The Alcohol is not completely integrated. The Sweet nose will remind you of Rum and, to a lesser extent, Brandy.
Supportive Aroma Accents:
Toffee, Honey, Golden Syrup, Butterscotch, Blackberries, Sweet Apple, Bananas, Cinnamon and Leather.
Toffee, Honey, Golden Syrup, Butterscotch, Blackberries, Sweet Apple, Bananas, Cinnamon and Leather.
Palate:
Medium Body. The Sherry Cask totally controls the Girvan Spirit. It's quite Sweet with lots of Dried Fruit, Caramel and X-Mas ingredients. It's difficult to get rid of the Glue, Varnish, Acetone and Alcohol waves.
Main Flavours:
Toasted Cereals, Buttered Toast, Caramel, Toffee, Vanilla, Christmas Cake soaked with Rum and Raisins, Plum Jam, Dark Chocolate, Alcohol, Glue, Acetone, Varnish, Oak, Pepper, Cinnamon and Nutmeg.
Supportive Flavour Accents:
Honey, Syrup, Butterscotch, Figs, Blackberries, Black Cherries, Bounty Candy Bars, Roasted Almonds, Seville-Orange, Cloves, Licorice, Mint, Leather and Tobacco.
Middle-Long and Sweet at first with a few Bitter notes towards the Dry end. The Alcohol remains ever present and Oak & Wood Spices come to the front. The Sherry Cask influence is overwhelming. I find Toasted Cereals, Buttered Toast, Caramel, Toffee, Vanilla, Honey, X-Mas Cake soaked with Rum and Raisins, Plums, Seville-Orange, Figs, Mint-Chocolate, Pepper, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cloves, Ginger, Licorice, Oak, Glue, Varnish, Acetone, Alcohol and Leather.
Drinking Advice:
I added a little water and that helps to partly calm down Palate and Finish. On the Nose the Alcohol seems to intensify somewhat and that's remarkable. I do get a light Metallic note on the Finish. But on the whole I would advise you to add a bit of Water to this Girvan.
Rating: 85.5
Nose: 21 - Taste: 22 - Finish: 21 - Overall: 21.5
Drinking Experience Neat: Well-Made but not really my thing!
Conclusion:
Girvan Distillery was founded in Girvan (South Ayrshire) in 1963. It is owned by William Grant & Sons. Most of the production is used in the William Grant Blends like Grant's and Clan MacGregor. The Grain Whisky is produced with 91.5% Wheat and 8.5% Malted Barley. The distillery has six Column stills with a total annual capacity of 115 million litres. The distillery also produces Hendrick's Gin.
It's generally accepted that 65 to 70% of the Flavors of any Whisky are formed by the contact of the Spirit with the Cask during maturation. I would guess that this percentage is even higher for Grain Whisky. That's why many Single Grain Whiskies go the market with more than 20 Years of Cask time. The Girvan I'm tasting today matured in an Ex-Sherry Cask and that's unusual. But 23 Years is a long time and the cask really took control over the Spirit. That probably will excite Sherry Bomb fans looking for a relative bargain. They should not forget one thing though. This is not a Single Malt Whisky and the Grain Alcohol, Glue, Varnish and Acetone spoil a bit of the Sherry party. If you're okay with that, go for it as the Price is this Girvan's greatest asset. My personal opinion: This Glue Wine is well-made but doesn't ring any Whisky bells!
Cheers!
Jan van den Ende January 31, 2021