Originally only available in travel retail, Glen Grant 15 Year Old became part of the core range in 2020 if I’m not mistaken.
Despite the distillery’s lightweight image (check the Glen Grant 18 Years for instance), this bottling mentions Batch Strength and comes at 50% ABV. I’ve never understood why they call it Batch strength and then make every batch the same strength…
Glen Grant 15 yo ‘Batch Strength’ (50%, OB +/- 2021, first edition)
Nose: plenty of biscuity notes at first. Shortbread but also coffee darker hob nobs. Then vanilla waffles and golden syrup, pears, gooseberries and lemon candy. Honeyed notes and buttercups after a while, as well as a grassy hint of American oak. After a while you really get a hint of American whiskey.
Mouth: plenty of apples again, with vanilla cake and marshmallow. Mid-palate a rougher side appears, with lemon zest, heather and green oak. Strong hints of ginger and pepper as well. A lot of barley notes and fresh oak shavings towards the end.
Finish: not too long, mixing sweet fruits and oak, with a hint of green tea.
This Glen Grant seemed younger than its age suggested. The amount of green wood is quite high on the palate, so I’m not sure the strength is well chosen after all. I like its bright character though, but you can get that from many a bourbon cask. Some biblical figure called this the best Scotch whisky of 2020, let’s not even go there. Available from The Whisky Exchange for instance.