Calibration Dram – Glen Grant “The Major’s Reserve” 40%

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During our inaugural Nurnberg Whisky tasting group evening, my co-conspirator in setting up the event brought along his “Calibration” whisky… It was an easy-drinking dram that he consistently starts with – a brilliant idea!

The beauty of this approach is to be able to discern immediately whether one is truly in the mood for a tasting. If something that normally is appealing and amiable doesn’t suit you – chances are it isn’t the whisky, it’s you! As let’s face it, every night is NOT whisky time! 🙂

By easing the palate into each tasting in a consistent way – with a straightforward accessible dram – he’s already tuned in to aromas. And with a low alcohol count (only 40%), one’s palate adjusts to spirits, ready to interpret flavours beyond the initial hit of alcohol. Genius.

So what did he bring?

Glen Grant “The Major’s Reserve” 40% 

  • Nose – Honey, fruit – mostly apples and pears – then also a nuttiness, shortbread, vanilla cream, hint of tobacco leaf, a lovely floral perfume
  • Palate – Gentle spice, creamy butterscotch, fruit, oak
  • Finish – Slightly bitter and astringent, tobacco and spice

Overall an affable, accessible, and exceedingly affordable dram. In Germany, you can find it for only Eur 18!

I was lucky to have just a few drops remaining in the bottle to linger over with most of my tasting notes from that later revisit.

My previous experience with Glen Grant has been at more sociable gatherings where no tasting notes were taken or venerable drams like a 60 year old or 64-year-old. It was quite interesting to glimpse a significantly younger avatar – perhaps as little as just three years!

After our palate calibration dram, we continued with a quartet from Gordon & Macphail’s Discovery series.

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