Clan Denny: Girvan Distillery:Vintage 1992 (Scottish Single Cask Single Grain Whisky: 21 Year: 59.6% ABV)
Visual: Quite thick viscous look in custard to gold color.
Viscosity: Medium speed thick streaks from the spirit.
Nose: Caramel. Vanilla. Grain husks. Light sharp citrus notes. Custard. Sloe gin. Barley. Water makes slightly stewed fruit.
Body: Squeezed lime up front. Vanilla and custard. Warming but not burning. Cherries under cake sponge. Malt chocolate. Water removes the little alcohol presence and gives very smooth custard and toffee. Brings out apples, light cinnamon and twisted treacle.
Finish: Cherries and fruitcake. Raisins. Vanilla toffee. Light alcohol numbing. Malt chocolate and orange. Water adds cinnamon apples, but still has an alcoholic air.
Conclusion: Single grain, ok I will admit that even I take shots at single grain whisky at times. Unfairly. Well, mostly unfairly. Well, sometimes unfairly. This however puts its stall out and gives a good case for single grain whisky to exist.
For one thing it shows how with single grain the oak influence is very immediately evident, here with lots of smooth caramel, custard and vanilla flavor. Despite the abv the main body virtually never reaches that burning point where the alcohol obscures the flavor.
For another it shows a remarkable amount of depth. Neat you get a sharp lime touch on first sip, hints of dark fruit as you hold it, into a more evident fruitcake touched finish. With water the darker fruits shift and turn revealing green fruit flavours previously hidden.
It is that progression, both from sweet aroma to fruity finish, and in the progression with water, that makes it and between them it gives you a lot to examine. Now, the finish does always hold a slightly too alcoholic air for me, but for the most part it is very smooth and layered. Nothing harsh, just what I was looking for at the time.
It reminds me of blended malts in that it is very smooth, but here that single cask nature seems to present just enough of those slight odd unpolished edges that make up a charming whisky for me.
The distinguished end of easy going.
Background: Ok, Clan Denny is a name for a collection of (usually blended malt) Whiskys. Girvan is a single grain distillery. Ok, I’ve got it. This was drunk at Brewdog Bristol, recommended as something a bit different when I wanted a low peat whisky to start the day with. Now single grain and I have not got along often, but I have seen enough to know there are special grain whiskys out there. Therefore I took my pen, notebook and water and gave it a chance.
