1969 Hart Brothers Glen Grant 33 Year Old Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch Whisky (700ml)

Note: Product has come from a private collection and as such has some minor scuffing/scratches/handling marks. Actual product pictured.

A proper time capsule, this one. When the 1970s brought modernised distilling methods, many feared a loss of quality and batch-specific factors. Not completely unfounded, as a shift towards mass production will always iron out a lot of wrinkles from the marketing/accounting side of things. Product integrity often falls short during these changes. This bottling only just missed this particular set of circumstances. While light in colour, this example is full sherry-matured and bottled at natural cask strength. Reviews state it retains a youthfulness that belies its age, with an undercurrent of green apple and almonds. This is close to as legit as you can get. One only. 51.5% Alc./Vol.

The Glen Grant distillery is named after its two founders, James and John Grant, who built the distillery in Rothes in 1840. After their death, the son of James, Major James Grant took over the business and built another distillery across the road, naming it “Glen Grant II” (today known as Caperdonich). The Major always aimed at producing a first rate malt, and so designed the distillery's especially tall, slender stills and purifiers himself. He reputedly enjoyed leading guests through his exotic gardens to a nearby falls where, taken from his secret whisky safe, he’d offer drams of Glen Grant accompanied by spring water drawn from the same Speyside burn that still feeds the distillery today. When the Major died, his grandson, Major Douglas Mackessack, took over the distillery, continuing its success.

Like most distilleries, Glen Grant closed its doors during the two World Wars due to a lack of barley and has since changed ownership several times. Most recently, the distillery was sold in 2006 to the Italian group Campari as a result of the acquisition of Allied Domecq by Pernod Ricard. Glen Grant remains one of the world's best-selling single malts (being especially popular in Italy), and is also available in various independent and vintage bottlings.