Old single grains can be outrageously delicious and creamy on the palate. 34 years in a single refill bourbon barrel has ensured this single cask Girvan (lowland William Grant and Sons distillery) displays sweet Bosc pears, grilled pineapple, demerara sugar, grapefruit and oak spice with the full soft and creamy palate that only old grains can bring.
The cask turned out 209 bottles, of which 24 have made the journey Downunder.
Bottled at cask strength of 48.2% ABV.
Built – out of necessity in 1963 after DCL (Diageo) cut William Grant & Sons supply of grain whisky – by Charles Grant Gordon in a mere 9 months; Girvan remains the only grain distillery in the company’s portfolio. It orginally utilised Coffey stills, however, these were replaced in 1995 by a multiple-column vacuum still setup. Girvan is primarily used as the basis of the Grants blend as well as being sold to other blenders: it is incredibly rare to see it as a single grain release outside of the world of IBs.
The Whisky Cellar was founded by Keith Bonnington, a Keeper Of The Quaich, and is based out of Edinburgh. Before branching out on his own, Bonnington spend almost two decades in the Scotch industry with 11 years at Edrington working with Macallan, Highland Park and Glenrothes. Bottling single casks batch by batch, they pull from a wide variety of well known distilleries, with a style that leans toward the richer side.
