Glen Grant 1974 (cask #7646)

Berry Brothers & Rudd bottled two casks of Glen Grant 1974 this year: cask #7643 at 47,8% and this #7646 at 49,3%.

Glen Grant 37 yo 1974 (49,3%, Berry Bros. & Rudd 2012, sherry cask #7646)

Nose: fragrant and deeply fruity sherry: blood oranges (plus peels), figs, raisins, stewed banana… Lovely estery notes – nail polish remover. Varnished oak. Then back to redcurrant jam. Cinnamon. Quite a few “green” notes too, a bit of pine-scented air refreshener.

Mouth: starts sweet and spicy. Raisins again, as well as Christmas cake. Quickly becomes oakier and oakier, with overinfused tea, tannins, sourish notes and a herbal bitterness. Liquorice. Almond skin. Lemon zest and hints of aspirin. Also a faint soapiness. Better with a drop of water, but still most of the fun is over.

Finish: long, oaky with prevailing bitter flavours alongside the fruity sherry.

Not bad. A great nose in which I really like the oak influence, but then a palate which has the other kind of oak, the disturbing type. Tasty but I’ve had better examples from the same distillery. Around € 160.

Score: 86/100