Grant’s Twasting with Ludo hosted by The Whisky Wire

Blended whisky can be very good, we all know that already. I’ve been tasting quite a few blends recently and when i was invited to join a twitter tasting arranged by my good whisky buddy steve of the “whisky wire”, i was thrilled. We were about to meet with Ludo , Grant’s whisky brand ambassador and a lovely fellow (Whom I’ve had the pleasure of meeting for a personal tasting of the entire grant’s range a few months ago via Skype), and taste four drams from the Grant’s core line: the Ale cask (an entry level blend aged in ale casks),the 12 year old, and the 18 and 25 year old aged whiskies. A very respectable line-up by all means.

1900 GMT, we all synced watched and went online to share those drams with fellow whisky lovers all around the globe, from Israel through the Netherlands, Spain, UK, Scotland, and many more countries.

Ludo, at the office Live, tweeting and tasting with us

We started with the Ale Cask, a fairly young NAS blend that is finished in cask which previously held Ale. Those are sourced from the Belhaven brewery.

Grant’s Ale Cask , 40%, £20

nose: A very feminine profile , citrus, fresh cut grass, honey, malt, cereals and  mash tun perfume (thank you Tommy!) some hints of banana and aniseed.

Palate: sweeter, with some honey, cereals, lot of malty stuff, getting bitter and cocoa powder towards the ending.

finish : dark chocolate, and cocoa powder.

A nice daily dram for sure. the best of the standard line (family reserve and sherry) and affordable.

Score: 78/100

Grant’s 12 year old , 40%

After 12 years of maturation in oak casks it is finished in first-fill American whiskey casks, making it richer, sweeter and more syrupy.

nose: Starts with a shiff of Paper from a magazine, vanilla, honey and zest, ginger candy in addition to some smoke and tobacco leaves in the background as well as some pine leaves.

Palate: initial smoke boom (after the ale which had none!), then malty sweet , some  almond notes sherry too, green apples and honey

Finish : malt, smoke, hints of  tobacco box.

I liked the peat and smoke effect here, after the “bare” ale cask. quite an entrance with that tobacco box. Good stuff, and a real good alternative to the classic JW Black 12 year old.

Score: 81/100

We continued now to the older blends with the 18 year old. this one is matured in oak casks for 18 years and then finished in port casks.

Grant’s 18 years old, 43%

Nose: some vinegar up front, winey, thje port is well felt here and on the good note. red fruits, and a lot of grapes. green ones.

Palate: fruits from the nose, with a blast of smoke (where did this come from?!) some coffee beans and then some nuts, and sweet raisins dipped in honey liquor. yummy stuff, this is a brilliant palate.

Finish : sweet molasses, and sugar, with nuts covered with milk chocolate.

A very good dram, The best in my opinion from the Grant’s range. Very well made. and so sexy. a dram to enjoy, and cherish.

Score: 88/100

After tasting this excellent drop of drammage, we set to finish the tasting with the very old and exquisite 25 year old. This blend was launched in 2009 to mark 100 years since the international launch of Grant’s It includes whiskies from the 1st batch ever distilled at Girvan in 1963 and also contains whisky from closed distilleries such as Ladyburn!

Grant’s 25 year old, 43% ,£160 (duty free only)

Nose:  tobacco, peaches and honey and some sherry influence. It’s also spicy, with notes of cinnamon, nutmeg and old spice as well as cigar humidor.

Palate: Wham! wow. sweet nectar of the gods. thick thick juices. butter and Sherry GALORE with a touch of the old dark chocolate. Love it!

Finish : Great length, a lot of chocolate, and sherry sweetness living in harmony.

This is an excellent, sweet, very sherried dram, with a long finish and a great body. If you are into sweet drams, this one is up your alley. It’s almost as good as the 18. Price is an issue here, and it’s not cheap (but hey, it’s old!).

Score: 87/100

I would like to thank Ludo  (he’s got a new twitter account he opened during the event, after liking this media so much –so follow him on twitter at: @Ludo1887 )

for his time and insights during the tasting, telling us about each whisky and answering questions. and of course to Steve for organizing this event, and allowing us get to know the Grant’s line better.

Cheers guys!