Scotch Whisky Review #425: Whisky Art Series Bloṡṡom Laburnum Glen Grant 23 Year (1995)

Distillery: Glen Grant.

Bottler: The Vintage Malt Whisky Co. (Bottled for Hot Malt Whisky Taiwan)

Region: Speyside.

Age: 23 Year. Distilled in 1995.

ABV: 58.5%

Cask Type: Hogshead.

Cask Number: 119447.

Price: £140.00 at auction.

Color: 1.2, Chestnut/Oloroso Sherry. Natural Color and Non-Chill Filtered.

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Nose: The first notes that came across was of sherry with some earthiness. A sweeter tobacco smoke follows behind before giving way to a brûléed sugar that has been slightly burnt. As you let it sit for a bit, dried fruits start to come out. Raisins, craisins, and dried dates are what come to mind. A bit of cranberry juice pops up here and again as well.

Palate: This one is a bit of a sherry bomb alright, there’s plenty of sherry to go around. You do need some water as it does hit hard at full strength. Thankfully, a small splash calms things down quickly. Sherry, cherries, cranberry juice, cola gummies, and brûléed sugar all come through after some water is added.

Finish: Medium to long in length. Even after water is added, it is quite boozey. It isn’t astringent or bitter, but you can definitely feel the alcohol on the way out much like you might on a fairly boozey dessert. Old oak notes along with cherry and craisins wrap things up.

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Conclusion: It has been quite a bit since I’ve last had a sherry bomb and while I’ve heard good things about older Glen Grant in sherry, I hadn’t really had any experience with them. My overall experiences with Glen Grant have been less than impressed but I found it hard to pass on this one at auction. I’m glad I did grab it, while the bottle information doesn’t specify it as a sherry hogshead, it is a very textbook sherry bomb for me. The nose is chock full of a lovely sherry-centric notes with some earthiness behind it. The palate delivers on more of those with a bit of a fun twist in the cola gummies. The finish does hold this back a smidge, it leans into boozey dessert a bit too much for me but overall I’m quite happy to have this one.

Final Score: 85.

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Scotch Whisky Review #425, Speyside Review #156, Whisky Network Review #579

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Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky and I will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection if feasible.
• 85-89: Very good to amazing, almost the complete product and I’m likely wanting a bottle or two.
• 80-84: Quite good, pleasant overall though there is usually a few things that could be improved still.
• 75-79: Good, enjoyable to drink but ultimately flawed.
• 70-74: Alright, solid and 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.