Glen Grant Debuts 65-Year-Old Single Malt Scotch—Its Oldest Ever—For Hong Kong Art Week
Clocking in at $50,000 per bottle.
The oldest bottle of whisky ever bottled by Glen Grant distillery is making its debut at Hong Kong Art Week. But the exquisite 65-year-old spirit’s story starts far earlier than that, in the 1880s. Glen Grant 65-Year-Old is the first bottled release under the new Splendours Collection — a best of the best series to showcase rich history of the distillery.
For the inspiration, master distiller Greig Stables dug deep into the archives and explored the life of “Major” Grant. The first tribute is named for the Himalayan Blue Poppy, which Grant himself was responsible for planting in the garden all the way back in 1886. The Glen Grant was built in 1840 by brothers James and John, and their legacy includes the laying of the first northern railroad, and “introducing electric light to both the distillery and the entire town.” The business was inherited by James “The Major” Grant in 1872, who traveled the world eventually brining exotic treasures to the 27-acre Garden of Splendours.
Grant’s contributions to the distillery included the planting of rare flowers in a “Garden of Splendours” at the distillery site, and it appears that for this collection (titled the Splendours Collection), they’ll mostly be relying on that botanical catalogue for inspiration. For this release Glen Grant commissioned handcrafted decanters from John Galvin and Glasstorm, which the distillery calls a Mobius strip seed pod — “a continuous, flowing loop symbolizing the timelessness of nature.”
The Himalayan Blue Poppy is comfortable growing in the UK despite its origins springing from the other side of the globe, which may be a nod to the fact that, though Glen Grant distills in Scotland, this particular whisky is debuting in Hong Kong. Only 151 of these decanters have been crafted, and all that stands between you and one of your own is a suggested retail price of $50,000. Notes from Glen Grant suggest a fruit forward final spirit for Glen Grant 65 — an impressive feat, as those flavors tend to diminish over the course of whisky aging.
While the color is described as “deep mahogany,” Glen Grant cites ripe fruit, refined sugar notes, juicy blackberries on the nose, with just hints of sandalwood. Ripe fruits appear again on the palate — black cherry, orange, dates, and an overall fruitcake note. The finish finally shows some “oak and light spice” along with delicate citrus and a “subtle hint of smoke.”If that sounds delicious to you (like it does to the rest of us), art week is just a few weeks away, right at the peak of Himalayan blue poppy planting season.
G. Clay Whittaker is a Maxim contributor covering lifestyle, whiskey, cannabis and travel. His work has also appeared in Bon Appetit, Men’s Journal, Cigar Aficionado, Playboy and Esquire. Subscribe to his newsletter Drinks & Stuff for perspectives on drinks, and stuff.