Some old Glen Grant


October 15, 2026

Some old Glen Grant

Because they are generally so graceful and elegant. And perhaps today we’ll manage to put together a lovely vertical tasting…

Glen Grant 29 yo 1994/2024 (52.1%, Hunter Laing, Old & Rare, refill barrel, cask #HL 57029, 173 bottles)

This was done to celebrate the launch of Ardnahoe. A very good reason indeed. Colour: English chardonnay. Joking. Nose: very fresh, with plenty of buttery brioche and apple tart. Not much to add at this stage, except for some curious notes of dried seaweed, kelp and nori... With water: hardly any change. Mouth (neat): very fresh, very much in the style of ‘modern Glen Grant’, with apples, cider and lager. The age barely shows. With water: pear juice now comes through as well, alongside some lovely green tea. Finish: not particularly long, but the green tea is now in full bloom. Comments: an old Glen Grant stripped bare, so to speak, which makes it rather lovely and even impressive, with the years having left remarkably little mark on it. We’d all love to be in such fine shape at an older age, wouldn’t we?
SGP: 451 - 86 points.

Glen Grant 22 yo 2003/2026 (52%, Decadent Drams, 193 bottles)

Some story about vatting 19 yo and 31 yo GG, which I frankly cannot make head or tail of, but our soul is pure, friendly and willing. Anyway, life is too short. Colour: full gold. Nose: the pear is back, but there’s also shoe polish and cigars. Think a varnished cabinet full of Lusitanias, circa 1990s, they were great, which is about all we can remember. With water: old books, old papers, waxes, inks, even parchment… Mouth (neat): herbs and earth, followed by leaves and roots, all rather salty and ‘fino-ish’. It’s not exactly letting itself be tamed just yet. With water: bitter chocolate and roasted lupin herbal tea. Let’s just say it’s rather unusual… Finish: medium in length, dry, toasted, quite earthy. Comments: I reckon you should only add a single drop of water. Perhaps such instructions on the labels would be welcome?
SGP:451 - 87 points.
Important Update :
It’s not a mix of vintages, of course, it is indeed a 2003, I was talking nonsense. Blame the three wonderful festivals in Paris, London and Hamburg over three consecutive weekends, they must have drained a little too much of my mental energy. Ha! -S.

Glen Grant 15 yo (100° proof, OB, late 1970s)

Colour: gold. Nose: limestone, flint, very ripe apples, soluble aspirin, whatever the case, this ought to cure whatever ails you. With water: ham fat and fresh pollen, followed by clay and red-stemmed melon (chardonnay) from the Jura. Mouth (neat): superb tension between lemon and camphor. With water: teas and herbal infusions, all wonderfully elegant. Finish: more of the same, even if it doesn't last forever and ever (S.?) Comments: perhaps not the greatest of the old Glen Grants, but we're flying very high indeed.
SGP:461 - 89 points.

Glen Grant 20 yo ‘Director’s Reserve’ (46%, OB, decanter, +/-1970)

This bottle was coming with a decanter. As always, these rather improbable decanters can be a little unpredictable and may not have stood up terribly well to the ravages of time, but let’s not jump to conclusions and taste this baby without any preconceptions. After all we don't even know whether it was coming from the orignal bottle or if it had been transferred to the decanter. Colour: amber. Nose: oh, this is beautiful, with walnut wine from the finest walnut wine maker in the world, soot, coal smoke, elegantly grilled bacon, old books and bone marrow… Mouth: perfect, saline, almost peaty, certainly smoky, with an unexpected assertiveness (what?) Tobacco, coffee, salted butter caramel, truffles… Finish: long and more herbal. A slight fir-tree character and an unmistakable salinity, even if we cannot quite explain it. The aftertaste is less straightforward, very peppery, and it loses a few points at this stage. Comments: a grand old Glen Grant in the old style and, truth be told, we rather expected as much.
SGP:362 - 90 points.

Glen Grant 41 yo 1967/2008 (46.9%, Signatory Vintage, Cask Strength Collection, sherry hogshead, cask #868, 197 bottles)

Let’s be clear, we’re approaching this baby with confidence and an almost unnecessary degree of determination. For let it be said, some of the most incredible Glen Grants we’ve ever tasted have come from the racing stables of Signatory Vintage. Colour: dark red amber. Nose: cedarwood, sandalwood, cigars, nutmeg, dried figs, dates and sultanas. In short, classic stuff. Mouth: tobacco, coffee, dried figs. We repeat, tobacco, coffee, dried figs. Finish: chocolate and coffee with kirsch. Comments: there’s a certain self-evident perfection here that requires no further explanation.
SGP:461 - 91 points.

Glen Grant 1951/2026 ‘Debut Appearance’ (49.8%, Gordon & MacPhail, Sir Kenny Dalglish’s Vintage Moments, first fill puncheon)

We’ll say it again, G&M are the undisputed master of very old Glen Grants to die for. Colour: full amber. Nose: incredible chestnut cream with chestnut honey and custard. An absolute, sublime stunner, after seventy-five years of ageing, if our maths is right. Nothing to add, except perhaps a spontaneous mention of little touches of myrtle liqueur. Mouth: it’s a little dry-dry now, but this ultimate combination of salty and ultra-dry notes works remarkably well, with an almost Nietzschean edge. Finish: very dry, very long, bitter, almost drying, yet outrageously elegant. Comments: the fruit has all but vanished, but there’s plenty of very bitter chocolate. Mind you, I have no idea whether Sir Kenny is fond of bitter chocolate.
SGP:261 - 90 points.

(Thanks Angus and KC)

Check the index of all Glen Grant we've tasted