Girvan 1989 (Berry Bros & Rudd) Review

“Grainy Days and Mondays” 

Country: Scotland 

Region: Lowlands 

Brand: Girvan 1989  
Selected and Bottled By/For: Berry Bros & Rudd, London

Type: Single Grain Whisky

Age: 24 Years

ABV: 46% 

Colour: Light Golden (Natural Colour) 

Nose: The first impressions are Varnish, Sugared Breakfast Cereals and Alcohol. Not unusual for Grain Whisky. Be sure to give the Girvan sufficient time in the glass before Nosing. After a while some Fruity notes come through like Pear, Apple, Banana Ice Cream, Nectarine and Citrus. I also find Chocolate-Flavoured Milk, Vanilla, Milky Way bars, Corn Syrup, Buttered Toast, Bourbon, Charred Oak, Grass and Herbs. It's not bad but the Alcohol is quite dominant. There is a faint Plastic/Rubber off-note but it's not really bothering me.

Palate: Adequate Delivery. Bitter-Sweet and slightly Sour. The Alcohol is very present. I find Sugared Cereals, Toffee, Vanilla, Charred Oak, Milk Chocolate, Apple, Pineapple, Lemon, Grapefruit, Varnish, Pepper, Nutmeg, Ginger Powder, Cinnamon, light Licorice, Menthol, Dried Herbs, Rum and hints of Aniseed and Espresso.    

Finish: Middle-Long, slightly Sour and Bitter-Sweet with Breakfast Cereals, Oak, Dried Herbs, Lemon, Grapefruit, Menthol, Varnish, Ginger, Pepper, Nutmeg and hints of White Chocolate and Espresso. The Alcohol remains very present until the very end.

I added a bit of Water and you get rid of most of the Varnish on the Nose. It becomes quite Creamy and Buttery. Lots of Cereals as well. Palate and Finish become quite Smooth and Creamy/Buttery but the Flavours get flat. Still, you can certainly experiment with a little Water  

Rating: 80.5 

Nose: 20.5 - Taste: 20 - Finish: 20 - Overall: 20

General Remarks: The 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. The Grain Whisky is produced with 90% Wheat and 10% Malted Barley. The distillery has 6 Column stills with a total annual output of around 75 million litres. The Vintage Girvan I'm tasting today was distilled in 

1989 and bottled in 2013 by Indie Bottler Berry Bros. & Rudd. It matured in 2 Ex-Bourbon Casks (# 37534/535). This Girvan is not Chill-Filtered. It is still available in some places at a price of around 110 US Dollars (November 2015).

Drinking Experience Neat: Okay/Good. The Alcohol is way too dominant.  

Conclusion: It's generally accepted that 65 to 70% of the Flavours of any Malt 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 probably why many Single Grain Whiskies go the market with over 20 Years of Cask time. The Girvan I'm tasting today matured for 24 long years and still I feel it wasn't quite enough as the Whisky is dominated by the Alcohol. On the Nose you can carefully wind your way around the Alcohol but on the Palate and in the Finish this is not possible and you get the full blast of it. I have nosed and tasted three Single Grain Whiskies so far and I have to admit they are not quite my thing. But that won't stop me from trying a few others of course! Everything for science!       

Jan van den Ende                                                               November 9 , 2015

Glen Grant 1995 (The Maltman) Review

“Malty, the Maltman”

Country: Scotland 

Region: Speyside 

Brand: Glen Grant 1995 (The Maltman)

Bottled by: Meadowside Blending Co. Ltd, Glasgow
Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: 17 Years

ABV: 46 % 

Colour:  Light Gold (Natural Colour)

Nose: Sweet, Malty, Floral and Fruity. The Alcohol is noticeable and you need to find your way around it. But when you succeed in doing so you will find a basket full of Fresh Fruit that contains Apples, Pears, Pineapples, Peaches, Nectarines and Bananas. I also find Sweet Barley, Oak and Resin, Wax, Custard Pudding, light Bourbon, light Honey, Grass, Lemon Zest, lightly Buttered Toast and light Wood Spices. Despite all these Aromas, it's not a very Complex Nose. Malt and Fruit are the main drivers. It's a pity that the Alcohol is not fully integrated.

Palate: Good- and Creamy Delivery. Here, the ABV works fine. Sweet at first but Oak and Spice quickly appear on stage. It's less Fruity than the Nose suggests. I find Sweet Barley, Charred Oak, Grass, Citrus (Mainly Orange), Apple, Melon, Vanilla, Bitter Chocolate, Pepper, Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Ginger, light Licorice and a hint of Espresso. 

Finish: Middle-Long, Woody, Spicy and Sweet with a very light Bitterness in the end. I find Sugar, Marzipan, Sweet Barley, Vanilla, Lemon, Pepper, Nutmeg, Cinnamon, light Licorice, Charred Oak and hints of Aniseed and After Eight.

I added a bit of Water and on the Nose you get More Malt and some Floral Perfume. On the Palate the Malt and Spices become even more dominant and the Finish gets rather Short. It's nice to add a bit of Water before Nosing but you better sip it Neat.

Rating: 83 

Nose: 21.5 - Taste: 20.5 - Finish: 20.5 - Overall: 20.5

General Remarks: 

Glen Grant is the only Scottish Distillery that was named after its founders/ owners John and James Grant. The Distillery is located just off the A 941 in Rothes, Morayshire, around 10 miles South of Elgin. It was founded by the Grant Brothers in 1840 and since 2006 it belongs to the Italian Campari Group. Glen Grant is mostly known as a Single Malt, especially in Italy but it's also a part of the Chivas Regal - and Old Smuggler Braemar Blends.

The Malt I'm tasting today was distilled in September 1995. It matured in an Ex-Bourbon Cask (# 97266) and was bottled in February 2013 by Independent Bottler Meadowside Blending Co. Ltd, Glasgow in their The Maltman Single Cask Series. Meadowside was founded in 2011 by Donald Hart and his son Andrew. This Glen Grant was not Chill-Filtered. Only 276 bottles went to the market. At the moment the average price lies around 90 US Dollars (November 2015).

Drinking Experience Neat: Good. 

Conclusion: It's surely a coincidence that this Glen Grant was released as part of Maidenhead's The Maltman series. Because it is a very Malt driven Whisky. On the Nose, the Barley is accompanied by lots of Fruit and that gives a very nice combination. Unfortunately, the Alcohol is a little too present in my opinion. The same Alcohol however guarantees a good Delivery. The lack of sufficient Fruit on the Palate allow Oak and Spices to dominate. I would have liked to see more balance there. The Finish is okay but simply does not provoke excitement. All in all this Glen Grant is a somewhat uneventful Speysider. Not bad but not great either.

Jan van den Ende                                                               November 5, 2015

Tasting Session at Glen Grant (May 2014)

Bushmills 21 Years Review

“Like Hen’s Teeth”

Country: Ireland

Brand: Bushmills 

Type: Single Malt Whiskey

Age: 21 Years

Alcohol: 40%

Colour: Dark Amber

Nose: Full, Sweet, Creamy and Mature. What a pity it is bottled at 40% only. The influence of the Sherry and Fortified Red Wine casks is quite noticeable. I find Dark Red Fruit, Dried Apricot, Ripe Apples, Banana Ice Cream, Papaya Cream, Peach or Nectarine, Oak, Honey, Vanilla, Toffee, Golden Syrup, Mature Bourbon, Dark Chocolate with a high Cocoa content, Marzipan, Buttered Toast, Malt, Ginger, Cinnamon and hints of Tobacco, Espresso and Orange Peel. I'm not a huge fan of Red Wine Finishing but in this case it works out very nicely. The Alcohol is fully integrated. This is by far the most complex Irish Whiskey I have nosed so far.

Palate: The Delivery is slightly Thin as could be expected at 40%. On the Palate, the Bushmills 21 is quite Sweet and rather Dry. Fans of mature Bourbon will probably like this Irish cousin a lot. I find Dark Red Fruit, Dried Fruit (Raisins and Apricot), Banana, Red Wine, Dark Chocolate, Malt, Oak and Resin, assorted Nuts, Toffee, Ginger, Cinnamon, Vanilla-Flavoured Pipe Tobacco, Coconut Milk and Espresso. On the Palate the 21 suffers from the insufficient ABV. 

Finish: Sweet at first but quickly becoming Dry. The Oak is quite present by now. I also find Dark Red Fruit, Sultanas soaked in Rum, Dark Chocolate, Nuts, Honey, Malt, Tobacco, Espresso, Black Tea, Cinnamon, Menthol and Licorice.  

I only had a very small sample at my disposal so I only nosed and tasted this Bushmills neat. I would imagine that a little added Water would further open the Malty and Fruity Aromas and Flavours.

Rating: 87.5   

Nose: 23 - Taste: 21.5 - Finish: 21 - Overall: 22

General Remarks: The Bushmills Distillery is located in the Antrim County in Northern Ireland. In 2005 it was bought by the Diageo Group but in November 2014 they sold it to Casa Cuervo, well-known for its Tequila. The Distillery produces a whole range of Bushmills expressions including the Original or White Label as it's often referred to, the Black Bush, the 10, 12, 16 and 21 Years Single Malts and the Special Edition 1608, released in 2008 to commemorate the 400th Anniversary of Legal Distilling at Bushmills. The Bushmills 21 Years matured in a 50/50 mix of Ex-Bourbon and Ex-Oloroso Sherry casks before being married for 2 years in Madeira infused casks. It is Triple-Distilled, coloured and Chill-Filtered. Today's batch was bottled in 2014. It costs between 85 and 120 US Dollars (November 2015).

Drinking Experience Neat: Good. Very nice Nose.

Conclusion: This is the most complex Irish Whiskey I have tasted so far. The 21 Years is a very good Whiskey indeed but it could - and should have been a great one. Why on earth is this bottled at 40% and why did the distillery apply Chill Filtration? Especially when you consider the fact that this Whiskey has already been distilled thrice. I feel that a lot of potential additional Aromas and Flavours were lost this way. At this price level the Distillery should consider these items. Nevertheless I really enjoyed this Bushmills, especially on the Nose. If you're a fan of Sherried Whisky with lots of Oak, Dark Red Fruit, Dried Fruit, Chocolate and Nuts you should give this Bushmills 21 Years a chance! Because it's as good as Irish Whisky gets.  

Jan van den Ende                                                               November 2, 2015