Monthly Archives: October 2025

2025 Whisky Show – Glen Grant Flight Part 1

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Sometimes we pass over the standards simply because we are distracted by shiny new toys. At London’s 2025 Whisky Show, as people thronged around all the rare and old, the distinct and limited drams, the weird and wacky experiments… we spotted just beyond the Glen Grant stand.

I remember how terrific it was to have a consistent Glen Grant calibration dram before diving into special tasting sessions. And decided to slow down, take a beat with an old friend, giving it the attention it deserves with a proper flight… beginning with their current core range before moving on to a new limited release series… and I’m so glad we did!

  • Glen Grant 12 year 43% (2025 Whisky Show – GBP 44.5)
  • Glen Grant 18 year 43% (2025 Whisky Show – GBP 125)
  • Glen Grant 15 year Batch Strength 1st Edition 50% (2025 Whisky Show – GBP 65)
  • Glen Grant Exploration No 1 Rum Cask 48% (2025 Whisky Show – GBP 86)

Glen Grant 12 year 43%

On the nose, we get delicious baked goods, like apple pie or apple crumble, sweet spices, then shifts into a tart apple cidar, pear jelly, white flowers, honey, overall quite joyous. On the palate, it is simply easy, fruity, and fun. We found more of that apple pie, joined by caramel, nuts, and sweet spices like cinnamon and ginger, with a finish that rewards with lightly roasting the spices.

We thought it would make a rather fine whisky highball!

Glen Grant 18 year 43%

Deliberately skipping over the 15 year, we went straight to the 18 year. It greeted us with similar elements as the 12-year yet softer, layered, both more elegant and more decadent. On the palate, it was simply delicious with a lovely finish.

We pronounced this a fine “proper” classic dram.

Glen Grant 15 year Batch Strength 1st Edition 50%

This whisky is again, like a variation on a consistent, classic theme – just more amplified – in a good way! As I had sampled this expression quite recently, I skipped it in favour of going straight to our next offering…

Glen Grant Exploration No 1 Rum Cask 48%

Again, there is a clear continuity between the expressions, yet this time it was even sweeter! The nose amped up the caramel, something almost like a whiff of peach crumble, then became quite tropical with generous ripe bananas, juicy sultanas, and sweet spices. The palate was simply enjoyable, fruity, full of flavour, bright and zesty! Was that a hint of ginger in the finish?

This may seem counterintuitive given the rum influence; however, we thought this expression might make a rather regal old-fashioned!

What do the folks at Glen Grant have to say about their latest expression?

The Glen Grant Exploration Series celebrates ‘The Major’s’ own journey of discovery in his worldly quest to uncover unique flavours. The inaugural limited-edition release, Exploration No.1 showcases our delicately aromatic and fruity signature character, finished in exquisite rum casks, bottled at 48% ABV and non-chill filtered. After maturation in bourbon barrels, the whisky is transferred into the finest rum casks for finishing, resulting in a tropical influence of spice, rich dark sugar and ripe banana.

What a brilliant re-introduction to an industry standard. This reminded me that we shouldn’t always chase after the crazy and new, we should revisit distilleries we thought we knew too! And be reminded why they have been in the business for the long haul – in the case of The Glen Grant – that is for some 180 years!

What’s up in Part 2? We graduate into the mature, fully adult category – the world above 18 years! The kind of drams responsible for The Glen Grant’s venerable reputation!

  • Glen Grant 21 year (2024) 46% (2025 Whisky Show – GBP 252)
  • Glen Grant 25 year 46% (2025 Whisky Show – GBP 699 aka 1 Dream Dram Token)
  • Glen Grant 30 year 55% (2025 Whisky Show – GBP 1250 aka 3 Dream Dram Tokens)

As for other Glen Grant tasting experiences?

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2025 Whisky Show – Elixir offerings

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Once upon a time, London’s Whisky Show was synonymous with both The Whisky Exchange and Sukhinder Singh & team. With the mega sale, Sukhinder has shifted focus to his distilleries and Elixir brands, providing several different ranges like The Elixir Trails with cross-country explorations, Elements of Islay, Port Askaig, Macbeth, and more.

We managed to catch up with Sukhinder early Saturday morning and exchanged the usual pleasantries. He shared his tips for the show and then led us to his booth, suggesting a few drams we really must try as “value” expressions from The Single Malts of Scotland range.

Where did he point us to? No surprise, Linkwood led the pack!

Linkwood 11 year (2014/2025) Small Batch 48% (The Single Malts of Scotland)

  • Nose – Juicy and joyful. What a treat for early in the day! Lots of orchard fruits – green apples and pears, lightly floral, warming into caramel with vanilla ice cream
  • Palate – Easy drinking with just enough substance to make it interesting, well-balanced
  • Finish – Lasts

Over the years, I’ve generally found Linkwood to be good value for its quality. Mostly decently priced and fairly consistent in delivering a good dram. Alas, we couldn’t get our preferred pick – the Linkwood – either at the show or even the Whisky Exchange – as it was sold out! Pity.

We moved from Speyside to the Highlands with Blair Athol – known for its bold flavours.

Blair Athol 18 year (2006 / 2025) PX 47.6% (Elixir – The Single Malts of Scotland)

  • Nose – Delightful sherry yet not heavy-handed, all those sherry dried fruits, nuts, and spice – sweet and sultry
  • Palate – Coffee spice and everything nice, lovely fruits, and again exceedingly well-balanced
  • Finish – Cosy up by a warm fire, closing with more mocha, dark fruits, and spice

Sukhinder shared how this expression was an absolute hit at Paris Whisky Live 2025. With our little sniff and swish, we could see why! Like the Linkwood, it seems to be sold out, and was last seen retailing for approx Eur 135.

In a bit of a departure so early in the day, we shifted into peat. I’ve often admitted to a certain skepticism about Bunnahabhain – I’ve had a few clunkers over the years, yet equally a few gems too! So, we were curious to see how this young 6 year stacked up!

Bunnahabhain 6 year (2009 / 2018) Small Batch 48% (The Single Malts of Scotland)

  • Nose – Warm with that elusive bacon maple sweep aromas, some salt joining the sticky smoked sweetness
  • Palate – Tasty! Cinnamon toast, chai tea, clearly peaty yet was balanced with the sweet
  • Finish – Long and lovely

Bunnahabhain was known as the “ladies” Islay with minimal peat. By contrast, this expression from a refill hoggie was heavily peated. And yet you don’t find that ashy iodine style, instead, it was more of a warm wood smoke.

Unlike the others, depending on where you live, you may be able to track down a bottle – currently retailing for approx GBP 52.

We returned to Speyside with an undisclosed distillery (ahem! Macallan “style”)…

Speyside 15 year (2009) 57.5% (The Single Malts of Scotland)

  • Nose – Big sherry, big red fruits, juicy plums, generous smattering of sweet spices
  • Palate – Spice, big, bold, and beautiful, loads of ripe fruits, including juicy blood red oranges, chocolate, bit nutty too
  • Finish – Strong, flavourful finish

There was no mistaking that this is a “BIG” whisky! From start to finish, it delivered. If this is your style, it is a great example. If you prefer something a bit more reserved, this isn’t for you. And yet, even though it was “BIG”, it wasn’t too big! We understand this bottle retails for around GBP 100.

We closed our flight with a lesser-known distillery from Speyside. This particular small batch expression is notable for being matured in two sherry butts, one sherry hogshead, and a heavily charred barrel, making for an interesting result.

Dailuaine 12 year (2011) Small Batch 48% (The Single Malts of Scotland)

  • Nose – Mellow and fruity – veering more towards berries like raspberry or blueberry, biscuits
  • Palate – More of a spicy kick than we anticipated from the aromas, peppery, taking time to settle in the glass before the fruits came to the fore. With a bit of time, the biscuits were back – this time covered in chocolate
  • Finish – There, yet nothing particularly notable

Where the Speyside was bursting with bold red fruits, the Dailuaine was fruity with a subtler hand.

Overall, our “The Single Malts of Scotland” flight delivered the goods and was a terrific exploration early in our 2025 Whisky Show wanderings.

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Dream Dram – Lochside 46 year from 1964

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A highlight of London’s Whisky Show is access to 1000+ whiskies – including rare and old! For our first Dream Dram of 2025, we decided to splurge and go for something both! Lochside shut many years ago, making its liquid increasingly rare. And at 46 years of age, this dram indeed qualified as something mature.

I’m often asked… “Which is your favourite distillery?” Of course, that’s patently unfair as it depends on the mood, maturation, and so much more. However, whilst I’ve only had a few experiences with Lochside, it shot way up to the top and has remained there ever since.

This bottle was incredibly unique – a single blend – where both grain and malt were produced at Lochside. Even more unusual, the grain and malt were not put together later in life. Instead, from 1964 they co-mingled in the same cask, maturing for 46 years, leading to an outrun of only 139 bottles.

We found this bottle at The Whisky Exchange’s Old & Rare booth for three Dream Dram tokens, which puts it in the GBP 2,000 – 2,999 range per bottle.

Lochside Single Blend 46 year (1964) Cask 8790 42.1% (The Whisky Exchange) 

  • Nose – Sweet, green leaves, fresh, aloe, soft and nuanced, faintly floral, candy floss, growing fruitier as it opened, joined by caramel, and then behind came a creamy nutty nougat. As it further evolved, the aromas shifted into strawberries and cream, topping a fluffy angel food cake
  • Palate – Prickly initially, then the strawberries came out… the next sip was warm, gentle, and utterly lovely
  • Finish – Incredibly long, simply stunning

I fully admit to being biased; however, this will be another treasured Lochside moment!

This yet again reinforces my pre-disposition towards anything from this closed distillery – including when the malt is combined with the grain!

If you are curious about my other brushes with Lochside check out the following posts:

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That Boutique-y Whisky Co Blends

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In early 2019, I decided it would be fun to invest in a special tasting set for those quiet times between tasting sessions. My choice was to go super unique with the That Boutique-y Whisky Company 2018 Advent Calendar. 

Then my life changed with a move from India to Germany, followed by the world changing with COVID. Fast forward to the fall of 2025, when I was packing and unpacking and repacking between Germany, two homes in India, and Canada… I found myself on our Maharashtra farm contemplating a potential weekend getaway in Manitoba and remembered this delightful box full of quirky and curious drams!

My Manitoba getaway companion is a fellow whisky lady plus our fabulous cottage host, who also enjoys a good dram or two! As I would be just missing her birthday, I decided to pack a few drams to enjoy together in a quiet celebration! Even better – they could be considered an early “appetizer” for the 2025 Whisky Show in London coming up the following weekend! I remembered a brilliant exploration of special blends with TBWC at the Whisky Show in 2022 plus an exceptional 45 year blended grain featured in Paris Live!

What did I pick?

After so much time, it was tough to track down official bottle images and tasting notes; however, I could find a few insights into what the good folks at TBWC had to say about two expressions!

I decided to start with the Japanese and Scottish blend… with no idea what to expect! Here are our impressions, splitting a wee 30 ml mini between three!

Blend of Scottish and Japanese malt and grain whiskies 21 Year Old (2018) Batch 1, 43%

  • Nose – Oh my! Lots of bananas, caramel, ripe fruits, a sweet tropical fruit bowl, and warm vanilla cream. As it opened, it even had a caramel buttery quality.
  • Palate – Light chilli spice plus chai masala – mostly cloves, joined by coffee mocha, chased by nutty nougat
  • Finish – Lingers with an espresso tail, hint of wood

Overall, we enjoyed this one. It had a nice balance between sweet and spice. Nothing complex, and one described it as particularly promising on the nose, hints of sherry cask; however, it “flatlined’ after some time.

Whilst I couldn’t find tasting notes in That Boutique-y Whisky Company’s archive, Master of Malt has this to say:

The very first bottling of Blended Whisky made using malt and grain whisky from Scotland and Japan is here! This 21 year old expression is a globe-spanning delight, with oodles of vanilla and cooking spice notes alongside a deft touch of smoke. Also, the label is generally just rad, so that’s a plus.

Tasting Note by The Chaps at Master of Malt

  • Nose: A very malty nose opens with Seville orange marmalade and buttered burnt toast. There’s some vanilla, juicy toasted barley and a touch of donuts underneath. Charred oak and red chilli add warmth and savoury spice throughout.
  • Palate: Nutmeg and clove add a drying spice which contributes depth to butterscotch and hazelnuts. There’s a subtle tropical fruit note underneath.
  • Finish: Medium length, with touches of burnt oak.

Next, we turned our tasting towards a young Scottish expression… I began with what was their #4 expression – the youngest of the bunch!

Blended Malt Scotch Whisky 4 B1.jpg

Scottish Blended Malt #4 6 Year Old (February 2018) Batch 1, 53.6%

  • Nose – Fresh and light, youthful apple cinnamon, lemon drops, bay leaf, slipping into wet leaves, dark molasses treacle, and more vegetal elements
  • Palate – Sour mash, pepper, with the sense that it simply wasn’t really ready to be bottled
  • Finish – Limited

Alas, a massive disappointment after a potentially interesting nose. Now, in fairness, we were three people sampling from a 30 ml miniature. However, given that is the 10 ml Whisky Show pour, we certainly should have enough to get an impression!

What do the folks at TBWC have to say?

This time it’s almost exclusively a single malt from one of our more recently built Scottish distilleries that’s been ‘teaspooned’ (that to say, an imponderable amount of another well-loved single malt has been added). All hail Superspoon who is out to save the world!

Tasting notes:

  • Nose: Sourdough bread mix and waxy floral notes. It’s a little herbal/vegetal at first, damp grass, buts sweetens with time giving butterscotch. Hints of cinnamon too.
  • Palate: Cream soda, dessert wine grapes and some bramley apple tartness. A hot peppery kick then sweetening with vanilla buttercream.
  • Finish: Sweetened chocolate malt, with a hint of barrel char.

After a youthful 6 year, I thought it would be nice to shift back to something a wee bit more mature… This just so happens to be the 1st Blended Whisky expression from their 3rd batch. What did we think?

Scottish Blended Malt #1 18 Year Old (2018) Batch 3, 47.3% 1,049 Bottles

  • Nose – Lightly fruity, soapy and floral, summer Scotch, vanilla, yet then becomes oddly musty or dusty, like a neglected wood closet
  • Palate – Different – from the sprightly aromas, we weren’t anticipating something quite so “charged up”. Lots of pepper and a few flashes of fruit, imbalanced
  • Finish – Stays, but doesn’t say much – a bit peppery and then perhaps sweet

I managed to track down a photo from Batch 3, however, try as I might, I could only find tasting notes for this expression from Master of Malt, who had this to say:

It’s another brilliant blended malt Scotch whisky from That Boutique-y Whisky Company! As you can see on the label, all those whisky fans are admiring the glory of the teaspoon, in reference to this being a “teaspooned whisky”. It’s made almost completely with malt whisky from one distillery, along with just a tiny bit of malt whisky from another distillery. This way it may no longer have which distillery it came from on the label, nor can it be sold as a single malt. However, they do then to be rather brilliant value for money, hence those rather charmed whisky lovers!

Tasting Note by The Chaps at Master of Malt

  • Nose – Rich with honey and poached pear, alongside a good helping of mature oak. Slowly but surely dried fruit and fresh peels take control of the nose.
  • Palate – Honeycomb, milk chocolate, sultana, stem ginger and black pepper.
  • Finish – Continued peppery malt, tempered by the return of the honeycomb and some floral air.

Next up, we continued to the Blended Whisky 2nd expression, also a few years older. Given the earlier ones were a wee bit disappointing, we hoped for something a bit more up our palate “alley”.

Blended Whisky #2 22 Year Old - Batch 3 (That Boutique-y Whisky Company).jpg

Scottish Blended Whisky #2 22 Year Old (May 2022) Batch 3, 41.8% 1,650 Bottles

  • Nose – Yummy! Chocolate, mocha, rum raisins, caramel – more specifically salted caramel pretzels
  • Palate -The espresso follows through, heavier than the nose, dark red fruits
  • Finish -A touch of marmalade joins a gentle sweet spice finish

We remarked that this was like Hallowe’en candy, preparing for Christmas. Really quite delicious and one we fully appreciated!

Here’s what TBWC have to say:

This right here is our Blended Whisky #2, which is rather different to Blended Whisky #1. There’s no massive sphere here, but the disembodied glove has returned! This time, it looks to have discovered a massive, soft planetoid. It’s another one of those metaphors!

Tasting note:

  • Nose: Honey, oak, vanilla pod and chocolatey cereal.
  • Palate: Cherry, spiced rum, thick caramel and a hint of earthy pear.
  • Finish: Menthol, freshly baked bread with chocolate spread, orange oil.

In closing, we progressed to the 3rd TBWC Scottish Blended Whisky expression, from their 1st Batch.

blended-whisky-3-23-year-old-batch-1-that-boutique-y-whisky-company-whisky.jpg

Scottish Blended Whisky #3, 23 Year Old (2018) Batch 1, 48.2%

  • Nose – Mellons, complex and mature, nuanced, layered, creamy hot milk chocolate, salted caramel, walnuts, cherries, buttery, vanilla pods, rich fruits
  • Palate -Soft and silky, a great mouthfeel, joined by warm honey, soft fruits
  • Finish – Melting in your mouthmilk chocolate, long with a hint of smoke curling at the end

Gorgeous. Finally. The kind of dram that envelops you in a warm, comforting blanket by the fire and be lulled to sleep. It was both a class act, beautiful, and yet at the same time unpretentious and comfortable. The sample was simply too little as we would have loved to settle down to enjoy it for the rest of the evening.

Here are the original TBWC tasting notes:

The disembodied gloves from Blended Whisky #1 and #2 continue to explore the deep reaches of space on the label of Blended Whisky #3! On this label, they’ve found something rather curious indeed – a length of chrome which seems to go on forever… Metaphors? Metaphors!

Tasting note:

  • Nose: Rich and fragrant, with old oak furniture and red grapes on the vine. Intense orange oil later on.
  • Palate: Honey’d cereals, dark chocolate and crumbly biscuits. A little bit of vegetal oak in there.
  • Finish: Very long, with further indulgent notes of dark chocolate and cigar box.

What an interesting quintet! Whilst we were clearly partial to the 4th and 5th, less enthused about the 2nd and 3rd, it was well worth doing!

We closed our evening moving into a different direction – still a blend but this time a mix of malts from 6 Isles. As the temperature dipped, the fire burned, shifting into a peaty expression was just right!

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2025 Whisky Show in London

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It has become an annual pilgrimage to London to join The Whisky Exchange’s Whisky Show. One I really don’t want to miss! Yes, it is a dizzying array of 1,000+ drams, an opportunity to discover new entrants, revisit distilleries you thought you knew, learn from industry experts, kibbitz with fellow whisky aficionados… for me, above all, it is an opportunity to spend quality time with a dear friend as we explore together a shared interest.

Over the coming months, I invite you to join our journey… hopefully giving you a sense of what we were lucky enough to experience over two days early October 2025.

Day 1

Day 2

  • Breakfast drams – explore new Arran releases
  • Tamdhu flight
  • Checking out a pre-official launch new entrant: Aberargie
  • Ichiro’s Malts and Chichibu
  • Revisiting Deanston
  • Dream Drams Glen Grant birth year pair – 1961 25 year + 1969 49 year
  • Annandale unpeated expressions
  • Canada’s Macaloney’s
  • Decadent Dram‘s lovely lowland Blandnoch
  • Finland’s Teerenpelli
  • Norway’s Bivrost
  • Sweden’s High Coast
  • Show close, with Duncan Taylor’s Octave expressions

We also thoroughly enjoyed three Mainstage sessions:

  • Independent bottling with Dawn Davies and Adelphi, Thomkins, Heart Cut
  • Nordic‘s discussion about the influence of location with Billy Abbott and Thy, Bivrost, Feddies
  • Island‘s impact on the approach to whisky with Dave Bloom and Harris, Scapa, and Spirit of Hven

I won’t be rushed to push out impressions of 100+ drams. Instead, I will savour anew the glimpses into different whisky styles, the conversations and insights, sharing bit by bit. So sit back, relax, and hopefully enjoy the show!

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BMC Scottish Classics – Royal Brackla 16 year 40% + Glen Grant 15 year 50%

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After exploring a trio from South Africa, our Bombay Malt & Cigar evening closed on a classic note. Whilst I thoroughly enjoy exploring whisky experiments and drams from many lands, there is simply nothing like a good classic Scottish single malt.

Knowing this, our whisky host added two well-known standards:

  • Royal Brackla 16 year and
  • A new batch strength Glen Grant 15 year expression

Both were Original Bottlings… Both true treats!

What did we think?

Royal Brackla 16 year “The Cawdor Estate” 40% 

  • Nose – Oh yes! Those lovely orchard fruits you can count on with a Royal Brackla! Crisp green apple, juicy with a drizzle of honey
  • Palate – Soft, well-rounded, fruity, enveloping one in a delicious warmth
  • Finish – Simply dripping with honey

Such a perfect classic, easy drinking dram.

Glen Grant 15 year Batch Strength 50% 

  • Nose – Happiness! A delightful, sweet, and fruity aroma with lemony high notes, morphed into a delicious lemon custard, dessert in a glass! The more it opened, the more joyful it became! Ice cream sandwich, cookies and cream, malty biscuits, lemon sorbet with vodka!
  • Palate – Same vein as the nose, nicely rounded, a good mouth feel, very approachable for 50%, just enough kick to make it interesting
  • Finish – Lovely
  • Water – Just adds a bit of spice

What can one say? Really rather nice!

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Whisky Lady – July til September 2025

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This has been a relatively slow quarter whisky-wise – both tastings and sharing notes. Largely in Germany, miraculously, my focus on learning German led to passing my B1 exams – woo hoo! Things began to pick up with travels – starting with a flight home to India late August, then Canada mid-September, and coming up – a trip to London for the 2025 Whisky Show!

Whisky-wise, the quarter began with a low-key wander through a few open bottles in Nürnberg. This was followed by an evening exploring Lambay Cognac Cask 43% and Gordon & Macphail’s Auchriosk 10 year 43% – yum! I also had a chance to pit India’s answer from the big boys – Diageo’s Godawan with Pernod Ricard’s Longitude 77.

Coming back to India for September had perfect timing! I could join BOTH a Whisky Ladies and BMC session after such a long time!

For the Whisky Ladies evening, it was a welcome back and farewell combined! I just missed our 10-year anniversary celebration in August; however, I was so happy to join a special evening in Powai. Unfortunately for us, our delightful host is now moving to Manila. As for the whiskies explored?

  • Slyrs Amontillado Cask 46% – A delicious Rumtopf dram with plenty of boozy stewed fruits, spice kick for a quick nip!
  • Baltach Wismaria Single Malt 43% – A decided “No” from my side, however, its briny, fungal, tannery style may find a few fans who enjoy a maritime style on steroids! 
  • Miyagikyo Grande 48% – Miyagikyo dialed up — still elegant, still fruity and floral, but with a richer backbone and more presence.

With a bonus bourbon – Grass Widow Straight Bourbon Madeira 45.5%.

This was followed by an evening with the BMC gents focused on a trio from South Africa followed by a pair of Sweet (almost) 16!

Thanks to a trip to Canada, I managed to have a lovely weekend getaway in a cabin – naturally accompanied by a wee whisky tasting with a few specially selected samples from That Boutique-y Whisky Co’s 2018 Advent Calendar.

  • Blend of Scottish and Japanese malt and grain whiskies 21 Year Old, Batch 1, 43%
  • Scottish Blended Malt #4 6 Year Old Batch 1, 53.6%
  • Scottish Blended Malt #1 18 Year Old, Batch 3, 47.3%
  • Scottish Blended Whisky #2 22 Year Old Batch 3, 41.8%
  • Scottish Blended Whisky #3, 23 Year Old Batch 1, 48.2%

Curious to know more? Check out a few more summaries:

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