Glen Grant 2000 by Wu Dram Clam: modern classic

Welcome to already the 50th tasting note for the Whisky Odyssey blog! We hope you enjoy the ride as we continue to push on and serve you interesting notes, whisky and stories about them. We have now arrived at a belter of a Speyside dram, and that is only fitting considering the whole next week we will move to Islay for Fèis Ìle, with special tasting notes each day. But even though being showered in peat whisky can be daunting, this Glen Grant that was selected by the Wu Dram Clan from Signatory stock is probably also not for the faint of heart. The colour is impressive, as is the abv after a good 23 years of maturing. We are going to taste a celebratory dram!

Glen Grant 2000, bottled at 23 years old in 2023, at 57,3 % by Signatory for Wu Dram Clan

Makeup: This very dark Glen Grant was distilled in the year 2000, 25 days into the new millennium, and filled into bottle on the 3rd of October 2023, but not before undergoing a darkening finish in a first fill sherry butt. No less than 693 bottles are available from this cask # 4.

General impressions: It is pretty heavy and has some trouble to come alive in my glass. Gives off vibes of freshly coated Italian furniture. After some breathing I certainly pick up some sherry sweetness, raisins and dessert cakes. We will try a few drops of water in a moment. First a sip. Something I certainly do not regret! I had some fear for the high alcohol but it is actually soft like silk. That makes the tasting all the more accessible; you can hold it on the tongue easily and see what comes to you. Initially, it is the sherry sweetness that dominates the palate, but moving onwards to the finish I get a hit of strong tobacco. As usual Glen Grant is a perfect match to heavy sherry influence. This one is no different.

The nosing was a bit difficult so we used some water to open it up. That works, and proves immediately that Signatory is the bottler you go to for A-quality sherry casks. It is a strong influence, all on cigar and furniture polish, but that is a nice variation on the red fruit tones. Also, the taste becomes more classic 1970s Glen Grant now, on par with some of the very great like expressions from 1972 vintages. But, of course, this is modern sherry. It has to content with a place in the shadow of giants, but it can roll with the best of them.

Conclusion: The finish feels a bit pressure cooked and I needed some water to release more smells from the glass. But when it does bloom open, you are tasting a modern classic. Excellent points for strong alcohol backbone, but no hotness from it.

Score: 89 points
Disclaimer: self-bought sample from a share with friends.

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