Grant's Family Reserve
Finest Blended Scotch Whisky
40% abv
£12.50
$23.45(CAD)
$15(USD)
It's Burns week... but that doesn't change much round here.
The weather is very un-wintery here as of late so we will have a week of Speyside whiskies to celebrate our first springtime-blossom-sighting 2008 (happens early over here). We will start a speyside-themed week here on the Malt Mission with a blend from the 'capital' of Speyside, Dufftown.
With a reasonably high malt content (35%) coming from Balvenie, Glenfiddich, and Kininvie (and allegedly around 25 others), Grant's Family Reserve is the 5th biggest selling Scottish blended whisky worldwide. Introduced in 1898, the whisky has gone by the name "Stand Fast" and "Best Procurable" but is now known as Family Reserve. It is an award-winning blended whisky from the family-owned distillers William Grant and Sons who own Balvenie, Glenfiddich, and Kininvie single malt distilleries and Girvan grain distillery (built in 1963).
The famous triangular bottle was designed by Hans Schleger, introduced for Grant's in 1957, was altered slightly and applied to the Glenfiddich bottle in 1964. Grant's experimented with 'wood finishing' with Grant's Ale Cask and Grant's Sherry Cask (Malt Mission #78 and Malt Mission #216) and has 12, 15 and 18-year old expressions that are available in the far east, Russia, and South America. I know many whisky lovers in Europe and North America who would LOVE to get their hands on these award-winning aged blended whiskies. I promise to share, if and when, if you do.
The Budget Hedonist had THIS to say about Grant's Family Reserve.
TASTING NOTES:
Floral, some baby powder, creamed corn. Pepper, nailpolish, green bananas and apple turnovers.
Excellent initial impact, banana and vanilla sweetness with a malty bite that is rounded with dust and smoke. Gets complex, thickens out after swallowing, which is unusual. Long earthy finish with a persistent but gentle sweetness.
SUMMARY:
The nose put me off a touch initially because there was such variety, but upon drinking the stuff the complexity of the nose was much more appreciated. VERY drinkable. Family. Indie. Scottish. All good.
Malt Mission #230
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3 comments:
Hey,
Great blog! I just thought you might be interested in a Scotch story in the Feb. issue of Men's Vogue, which hits newstands this week. But here's a link to the story.
Man, just now was actually the first time I've ever tried a dram of this stuff. The banana comment is spot on: there is the most pleasant taste of bananas foster before the whisky hits your throat and explodes into a smoky mess.
I have just been given a bottle of Grant's stand fast whisky.
Nothing unusual there, except that this is in a round, not triangular section bottle which dates for the second world war I believe. There is a poorly printed label on the back that apologises for the lack of the traditional bottle due to the "national bottle shortage".
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