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Grants Ale Cask Reserve

Price

$29.00/750ML

Bought at

Bishops Cellar (Lower Water St., Halifax)

Grants Ale Cask is a version of Grants that has been matured in, as you may have surmised, a cask previously used to contain ale; as such, you should probably read my review of the original product first. This Whisky smells remarkably like some ales I have encountered, dark and meaty, with overtones of honey; of the original smell of Grants, there only remains the malt, which serves as a backdrop to these other, much stronger smells. First of all, the rich texture of Grants is kept, if not increased, which is a very favourable point; the taste is very strongly affected by the ale, much more than I had expected from other experiences with finishes: the taste starts out full and round and just keeps going that way, with malt and honey, soon supplemented with the chocolate present in the original Grants, then ending with a touch of that meat present in the smell, though, thankfully, nowhere near as strong. Many of the more subtle characteristics present in the original product, notably the smoke and peat, are masked in this Whisky, but what it loses in subtlety, it gains in distinctive character. The result is unique and provides a memorable drinking experience which is lacking in the original Grants, and I personally find it very enjoyable, though perhaps somewhat harder to drink in large quantity. However, I would hesitate to recommend it to all scotch drinkers, mainly because of the very powerful smell which might be offensive to some people; but if you already like both Grants and some of the more pungent ales, this Whisky is certainly worth a try: for $30, this might make for an inexpensive, yet special drink.

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