Campari-owned Speyside Scotch maker Glen Grant lately launched two new, extremely aged expressions to the American market. Glen Grant 25 Yr hit stateside cabinets in 2024, whereas the 30 yr is rolling out in early 2025. Together with their 21 yr bottling, the trio makes up Glen Grant’s “Glasshouse Assortment,” the oldest aged expressions within the distillery’s everlasting lineup.
The Glasshouse Assortment whiskies are the final produced beneath outgoing Grasp Distiller Dennis Malcolm, who spent six a long time in varied roles throughout the business; subsequent releases will probably be overseen by his successor, Greig Stables.
Each expressions are pure in shade and non-chill filtered. Let’s see how they style!
Glen Grant 25 Years Outdated — Dehydrated pear, apple juice, mild baking spice, and freshly baked challah rolls begin off the nostril. It’s fairly mild in character, with touches of oak and a tiny little bit of pine sap, however nonetheless aromatic sufficient for particular person scents to stay round lengthy sufficient within the nostrils. Salty taffy develops over the course of minutes, including well mannered sweetness and salinity that pairs properly with the wooden scents. The whisky is relatively richer at first sip, which is each extremely viscous and richly spiced, like milk caramel infused with nutmeg, vanilla extract, and mint sprigs. Tart inexperienced apple, orange bitters, and unripe pineapple type a spine of fruit that builds towards the midpalate. Taken collectively, they’re a pleasant foil to the spicy sweetness, the whisky by no means fairly settling totally into candy or bitter however current harmoniously at their intersection all through most components of the sip. The end turns towards macchiato and baking chocolate, topped with a barely-there layer of skinny, woody caramel. A ultimate pop of peeled apple skins and campfire embers wraps issues up with a kiss of cooked fruit. This begs return after return to the glass and almost warranted an excellent larger rating. 92 proof. A / $1,000
Glen Grant 30 Years Outdated — The nostril begins with peeled tangerine, sugar muddled with fragrant bitters, gentian root, and inexperienced peat moss. It’s sugary and citrus ahead, adopted by a moist and earthen undercurrent. Nostril deeper, and purple grape exhausting sweet comes out to play. White pepper and mashed white grapes observe, frivolously spiced and effervescent earlier than revealing a refined, semi-medicinal waft of creosote and cured oak. A primary sip leads with brown sugar, apricots, and golden raisin. It’s really much less impactful than I imagined, however that restraint is shortly liberated by a second sip, which all of a sudden opens up into extra fruit after which semi-sweet chocolate. Candy espresso rolls in by the midpalate, and at this level, the complete dram is paying homage to an affogato — suppose espresso over ice cream — topped with two or three stripes of raspberry glaze. The end leans again into spice and dried grapes, near cinnamon-spiced raisin bread, coated in apricot jam. Take your time, as that is actually nice stuff. 96 proof. A / $3,000
Glen Grant 30 Years Outdated
$3000
