Whisky felling #4. Gordon & MacPhail: Glen Grant 21 yo GM 40%, Glen Grant 46 yo 1966/2012 GM 40%, Strathisla 40 yo 1967/2007 GM 43%, Glenlivet 56 yo 1954/2010 GM Private collection cask #2736 50.6%

Four bottles, eight men and one life. 

We were lucky to buy a bottle of much appraised Glenlivet 1954 GM Private collection, such a diamond malt needs nice frame, so we added Glen Grant 1966 GM and Strathisla 1967 GM. Glen Grant 21 yo GM would be our warming dram tonight. 

Glen Grant 21 yo GM 40% - have no idea when it was bottled or distilled, though not so long ago as we have cork here instead of a screw cap.

Nose: on a blind tasting I'd say it's a lowlander, lots of fresh grass, dry grass, hay, floral honey, sweet and elegant. 

Taste: sweet and smooth with distinctive black tea notes. 

Finish: medium long, quite spicy and gingery. 

Overall: dangerously drinkable and very elegant Glen Grant which feels absolutely ok at 40%. 

Score = 23 22 22 22, 89/100!

Glen Grant 46 yo 1966/2012 GM 40% - lighter in colour, more bourbon or 2-nd refill casks in a batch?..

Nose: fresh, fruity and grassy, pleasant creaminess, dried mushrooms and lemonade notes after half an hour. 

Taste: feels lighter than 21 yo, nice combo of fruity sweetness and grassy bitterness. 

Finish: long, creamy with a wave of exotic fruits and soaked cucumbers 30 seconds after you made a sip. Delightful!

Overall: very fresh and fruity despite its age, maybe not so powerful in taste, though nose and finish are great, liked this style a lot.

Score = 23 21.5 23.5 23, 91/100!

Strathisla 40 yo 1967/2007 GM 43% - much darker colour is very seducing. 

Nose: oak, sherry, cough syrup, buttery nuttiness, cinnamon, a very rich one. 

Taste: quite thick and spicy for 43%, accent on oak, cough syrup, hints of coffee. 

Finish: long and spicy developing on prunes, nuts and oak.

Overall: very confident Strathisla in every component. 

Score = 23 23 23 23, 92/100!

Glenlivet 56 yo 1954/2010 GM Private collection cask #2736 50.6% - only 191 bottles released, well over 50 years, first fill sherry cask, strength around 50%, feeling a bit shaky :)

Nose: fresh and fruity on a start, smoked pear wrapped in bacon, hint of wood smoke, grassiness, then comes tobacco, some saltiness appears after 20 min, more smoke, hints of varnish after 40 min, it is changing and developing all the time!

Taste: very concentrated, tobacco and citrus peels, old balsamico and salt, old oak and liquorice, you make smallest sip possible and it bursts on a palate, just stunning.

Finish: lo-o-ong and coating, oaky but not too much, tons of herbs and spices, fresh note of mint and eucalyptus, touches of salt and wood smoke on top. 

Overall: I have no words, we have nirvana whisky. 

Score = 24.5 24 24.5 24, 97/100!

P.S. My first deliberate 97/100 score, it's a pity I tasted Bunna AA 1968 and Highland Park 40 yo so long ago, they are the only 2 malts I have in my mind now to compete with this absolutely stunning old sherried Glenlivet...