Old Potrero 18th Century Style Rye Whiskey
July 12, 2018
Booker’s 6YO True Barrel Bourbon Batch 2017
July 18, 2018Grangestone Highland Single Malt Rum Cask Finish
WhiskyRant conclusions
Tasting notes
The Grangestone Highland Rum Cask Finish Single Malt comes from an unnamed distillery in Scottish Highland region. Grangestone is a blender and bottler based in Surrey, England. Since it’s owned by William Grant & Sons, the malt whisky distillery could be Glenfiddich, Balvenie or Kininvie, but all those distilleries are located in the Speyside region.
Other distilleries owned by William Grant & Sons include Girvan/Ailsa Bay (grain whisky distillery based in Lowlands) and Tullamore (Irish distillery) but the malt can’t be from those distilleries. So the Highland malt whisky used in this Grangestone Rum Cask Finish remains a mystery.
The whisky has been aged in traditional American Oak Ex-Bourbon casks before being transferred to Caribbean Ex-Rum casks for finishing maturation. There’s no information regarding the aging periods, so unfortunately we don’t know how old the whisky is and how long it’s been finished in rum casks. The single malt has been bottled at 40% ABV.
The Invention of Lying
Grangestone Highland Single Malt feels very young. It is so unmatured that I even started to question whether it’s a blend with big portion of grain whisky. Grain whisky tends to give an edgy tone for the dram. That is exactly what I’m getting with this single malt from Highlands.
I will trust the bottler and go with the statement that this is malt whisky from a single distillery, but it surely doesn’t fit to my palate. My guess is that this is very young, probably 3-5 years old.
Since my first thought was: there’s no way this is malt whisky! I’m going to go with The Invention of Lying as the movie reference. I trust that folks at Grangestone simply don’t know how to lie, like people in that Ricky Gervais movie. And say that this single malt simply ain’t my cup of tea, but it is a single malt whisky.
Tasting Notes
Grangestone Highland Rum Cask Finish Scoring
72
8 Comments
I fully enjoyed this whiskey. The body was very palatable with a relaxed finish. I will purchase this once again
Thank you Kieran for the comment. Did the palate feel like single malt to you? Because it reminded me of a mix of grain and malt whisky, and I’m not a big fan of blended whiskies. So that’s why I didn’t enjoy this one.
I got this one for present, I tasted it, where I can put the rest of it?
Oh, I feel you there. That’s exactly how I felt.
I found the Grangestone single malt rum finished to be smooth and pleasant on the palate, I have been buying it regularly because of its taste. My Daughter gave me for father’s day a bottle of 16 years old Abelourd and I was looking forward to a great experience. It was good, better than good but to be honest I like the Grangestone much better, I found it smoother and it has that sweet taste of rum, very subtle but there, I am a also a rum drinker and maybe my taste is not as refined as yours but I will pick the granestone over the Abelourd anytime and at a much lesser price. This is just my humble opinion but I have been drinking scotch for the better part of my life and I am 76 years old.
Thank you Tony for your comment, and nice to hear that you like this whisky! Of course it’s always just a matter of taste, sometimes could be because of batch variations. But your explanation does make sense. For my palate, rum cask finishes haven’t been a big success. And I’m not a rum drinker. Only exception being Diplomático Mantuano with a nice cigar, that’s a combination I really like. Otherwise I haven’t learned to drink rum. So rum influence could be one of the reasons why I don’t like this Grangestone that much. The price surely is attractive.
Agree Tony
I’m having my 1st dram of this Grandstone Tum highland single malt…very impressed. Been a scotch drinker for years & this is very good.
Not to spoil it…my every day is Johnny Walker Black.
Doug Barber
Thanks Doug for joining the conversation! Johnnie Walker Black is a nice every day dram, even for me who doesn’t like blended whiskies as much as malt whiskies. And nice to hear that there’s appreciation for Grangestone Rum Cask Finish, even though it didn’t impress me. If you like this dram, you’re most likely getting a bargain. And bargains are something to yearn for with today’s whisky prices.