Cask number 9711 sat maturing for 22 years before Gregor Hannah moved the contents into an oloroso cask that had just been emptied. Six months later 307 bottles were filled. A move like that can go either way — this one went the right way.
The expert's description
Glen Grant 1998/2021 Lady of the Glen 23 Year Old is a Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky from a hogshead finished in an oloroso cask, bottled at cask strength 50.4%.
The spirit went into cask in 1998 and was bottled in 2021 from cask number 9711. For its final months the whisky sat in a freshly emptied oloroso hogshead, a far more aggressive form of finishing than an older sherry cask would deliver. The result is 307 bottles, non-chill filtered and with no added colour.
Lady of the Glen is run by Gregor Hannah under the name Hannah Whisky Merchants, and the whole business model is single cask. He buys individual casks, follows them closely and often adds a short finish when he judges a cask needs a nudge. Glen Grant's light, dry spirit is a rewarding starting point for exactly that, because there is room for the sherry without losing the malt.
Tasting notes
Nose
Prunes and maple syrup first, then dark chocolate and coffee grounds. Behind that sit currants, cinnamon and a trace of old leather. Orange peel emerges after a couple of minutes.
Palate
Deep, dry sherry rather than sweet sherry. Dark fruit, walnut and cocoa, with a firm, almost bitter edge from the cask. Underneath it all the light Glen Grant malt keeps the whisky from turning heavy.
Finish
Long. Dark chocolate, dried figs and tobacco ebbing slowly into a dryness of oak and cinnamon.
Specifications
Name: Glen Grant 1998/2021 Lady of the Glen 23 Year Old Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky 70 cl 50.4%
Distillery: Glen Grant
Bottler: Lady of the Glen
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 23 years
ABV: 50.4%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Hogshead finished in an oloroso cask
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 1998
Bottled: 2021
Number of bottles: 307
Edition: Single Cask no. 9711
Flavour profile
Sherried · Dark fruit · Spiced · Dry · Cask Strength
Investment potential
Medium. A 23 year old single cask in 307 bottles cannot be repeated, and Glen Grant at that age from independent bottlers is growing steadily scarcer. The combination of high age, cask strength and a documented cask number is what collectors look for.
Did you know?
Lady of the Glen sells its casks as casks — Gregor Hannah routinely puts the cask number, fill date and bottling date openly on the label. It is a level of transparency many larger houses still hold back.
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