Black Plague
New Member
- Joined
- May 11, 2006
- Messages
- 539
I'm taking a shot at my very first whisk(e)y review, so here goes nuthin'.......
Grant's The Family Reserve
Blended Scotch Whisky
No Age Statement
40% ABV
In addition to a good selection of single malts, I usually keep a bottle of blended whisky around to indulge my guilty pleasure: Scotch and soda. I do actually like to use a good Scotch when I make it...but I'm often left feeling guilty for having diluted a fine dram, like Johnnie Walker Black or Dewar's 12 YO, with club soda. Conversely, I don't like paying a lot of money for crap. I wouldn't pay the $20-25 they ask for J&B, even if I was drinking it straight (because it's damn near tasteless once you put soda in it), and the less said about Cutty Sark, the better. On the other hand, the bottom shelf of the Scotch aisle often holds horrors no man should ever subject himself to.
I used to think Grant's was in that same category...seeing how I often found it on special for $11 for a 750ml bottle at the local grocery. I just assumed it was in the same category of diesel swill as Inver House. But I started to hear how Grant's comes from the same Grant family that gave birth to Glenfiddich and the always delightful Balvenie and I also began hearing how their innovative Grant's Ale Cask Reserve was being highly lauded by malt enthusiasts.
So there it was, that funky, triangular bottle...once again staring me down...a yellow tag dangling below its perch on the shelf proclaiming it to be on special again for about $11.
I had long ago used up my last bottle of blended and was hankering for a Scotch and soda...what the hell. $11 isn't too steep a price to learn a lesson if it ends up tasting like burning vomit. So I poured a little into my Glencairn glass for a proper tasting.
Without water, the nose was malty, heather honey, scones, maybe just the tiniest whiff of peat smoke. The palate was grainy with a most beguiling aspect of bananas and vanilla pods, with a pleasant grassy element, smooth in the mouth, light-medium bodied feel, then a gentle brush of heat on the swallow and a dry, grassy finish and maybe a hint of charred barrel.
With a little dash of water, the banana and vanilla taste now exploded in the nosing, with the grains and honey now taking a backseat to them in the aroma. Tastewise, the mouthfeel became much creamier and silkier, though still light-bodied, with a much more detectable honeyed grain flavor and teasing out just a small nuance of peat smoke, and the finish also carried that smoothness as the whisky slides down your throat and leaves you with breakfast cereal, chopped up bananas over top, and a little charred oak.
Dang...there's a lot going on there for a blended scotch I bought for eleven bucks!
And if you mix it with club soda, as I often do, I found there that the smoke and bananas really come forward.
Who would've known? Proof that there really IS a good scotch to be had for under $20. Might not be the most robust, definitely won't satisfy any Islay lovers' cravings, but actually achieves the coveted goal of being something quite drinkable for a small price point. I think it would make a nice, light aperitif before dinner.
So if your budget is pinched nowadays, due to our hard times, or you want a good mixer Scotch without a big price...I recommend Grant's! :thumbs:
Next, I'm going to try to find a bottle of Ale Cask Reserve, which I understand is only about $20 (another good deal, sounds like).
Grant's The Family Reserve
Blended Scotch Whisky
No Age Statement
40% ABV
In addition to a good selection of single malts, I usually keep a bottle of blended whisky around to indulge my guilty pleasure: Scotch and soda. I do actually like to use a good Scotch when I make it...but I'm often left feeling guilty for having diluted a fine dram, like Johnnie Walker Black or Dewar's 12 YO, with club soda. Conversely, I don't like paying a lot of money for crap. I wouldn't pay the $20-25 they ask for J&B, even if I was drinking it straight (because it's damn near tasteless once you put soda in it), and the less said about Cutty Sark, the better. On the other hand, the bottom shelf of the Scotch aisle often holds horrors no man should ever subject himself to.
I used to think Grant's was in that same category...seeing how I often found it on special for $11 for a 750ml bottle at the local grocery. I just assumed it was in the same category of diesel swill as Inver House. But I started to hear how Grant's comes from the same Grant family that gave birth to Glenfiddich and the always delightful Balvenie and I also began hearing how their innovative Grant's Ale Cask Reserve was being highly lauded by malt enthusiasts.
So there it was, that funky, triangular bottle...once again staring me down...a yellow tag dangling below its perch on the shelf proclaiming it to be on special again for about $11.
I had long ago used up my last bottle of blended and was hankering for a Scotch and soda...what the hell. $11 isn't too steep a price to learn a lesson if it ends up tasting like burning vomit. So I poured a little into my Glencairn glass for a proper tasting.
Without water, the nose was malty, heather honey, scones, maybe just the tiniest whiff of peat smoke. The palate was grainy with a most beguiling aspect of bananas and vanilla pods, with a pleasant grassy element, smooth in the mouth, light-medium bodied feel, then a gentle brush of heat on the swallow and a dry, grassy finish and maybe a hint of charred barrel.
With a little dash of water, the banana and vanilla taste now exploded in the nosing, with the grains and honey now taking a backseat to them in the aroma. Tastewise, the mouthfeel became much creamier and silkier, though still light-bodied, with a much more detectable honeyed grain flavor and teasing out just a small nuance of peat smoke, and the finish also carried that smoothness as the whisky slides down your throat and leaves you with breakfast cereal, chopped up bananas over top, and a little charred oak.
Dang...there's a lot going on there for a blended scotch I bought for eleven bucks!
And if you mix it with club soda, as I often do, I found there that the smoke and bananas really come forward.
Who would've known? Proof that there really IS a good scotch to be had for under $20. Might not be the most robust, definitely won't satisfy any Islay lovers' cravings, but actually achieves the coveted goal of being something quite drinkable for a small price point. I think it would make a nice, light aperitif before dinner.
So if your budget is pinched nowadays, due to our hard times, or you want a good mixer Scotch without a big price...I recommend Grant's! :thumbs:
Next, I'm going to try to find a bottle of Ale Cask Reserve, which I understand is only about $20 (another good deal, sounds like).
