Nose: (according to the wife) You get a real whiff of ethanol from the get go. After that, it becomes a very generic “Scotch” smell with malt and a hint of apple.

Palate: Thin, as expected. Main notes are malt with some apple and the tiniest bit of peat.

Finish: Short. There’s some oak spices, malt, and a hint of chocolate. If you take too big of a sip, it leaves behind an ethanol like note as well.

Conclusion: Grangestone is rather controversial, at least on /r/Scotch. It gets pushed a lot in TotalWine stores as their Spirits Direct option. So when I saw they had some miniatures of them, I figured I’d give it a shot. It’s surprisingly decent, though incredibly generic. It’s as if someone tried to make a generic version of Johnnie Walker Black. Nothing fancy, though I did enjoy the hint of chocolate in the finish, and as long as you don’t take too much at once there’s nothing majorly egregious either. For the price, $35 a bottle, I’d rather spend a few extra to get something like a Glenfiddich 12 but it’s not something I’d pour down the drain either.

Final Score: 70.

Scotch Whisky Review #158, Highland Review #36, Whisky Network Review #210

Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky.
• 85-89: Amazing, will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection (if feasible).
• 80-84: Very Good, maybe only one minor nitpick about the whisky keeping it here.
• 75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink.
• 70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.