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Glen Grant Berry Bros - 1974 37YO

A Christmas Bonanza

0 096

@Nemesis101Review by @Nemesis101

24th Dec 2013

0

Glen Grant Berry Bros - 1974 37YO
  • Nose
    25
  • Taste
    23
  • Finish
    24
  • Balance
    24
  • Overall
    96

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Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

Glen Grant - best known as a cheap and commercial single malt usually drowned in orange or cola. But the lesser known side are bottlings such as this one. Now this is actually the first bottle on Glen Grant I've ever bought so nothing like going in at the deep end. However after sampling it at Manchester's Whisky Festival in October I knew I was onto a winner. I've held back until now, Christmas Eve before sampling it again.

It's a very dark colour which might indicate sherry influence but there is no mention of this on the bottle. Of course this could be due to its long 37 years of aging. This is Berry Brothers which btw, means no artificial colouring. So I can appreciate this knowing it is as nature intended.

Orange, Tangerine and spices on the nose. Vanilla and a subtle creamy oakiness follow. A slight hint of dark and red fruits. Raspberry and dark chocolate seem to appear after some time in the glass along with coffee and lemon. Spices return. I expected complexity but this is really quite something!

Orange chocolate cream on the palate. This is at 47.8% which is normally below my water addition threshold but this initial taste suggests a touch of water will be a benefit.....

Yep, that is better. Creamy coffee now seems to be the predominant flavour which is a prelude to a tangy yet sweet citrus flavour. Overall this is a little bit like a mix of those soft centred chocolates that everyone has at Christmas - orange, coffee, lemon, raspberry, chocolate all seem to put in an appearance.

The finish on this is very very long. Still remaining slightly fruity but it is a delicately bitter coffee edge that lingers longest.

OK, how to score? I am the first to admit that there are many members of this site who are far more experienced tasters than me, particularly with such complex long-aged malts. So it's difficult to compare this to any benchmark. The closest I've tried is a 1976 33YO Royal Brackla and this beats that easily.

Whatever the case, this is a simply gorgeous whisky although at the price I wouldn't expect anything else.

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