Category: The Grove

[40.0%・NAS・Bottled Circa 2014-2017・Official Bottling・Batch Release]

Nose:

Sweet syrupy nose, wee plums and fresh pasture. The corn sweetness and the white spirit have been hidden under the cover. It’s as if one has opened a fresh jar of maple syrup and just poured it all over the spirit characters.

Palate & Finish:

Sweet and acidic, green plums and maple syrup. Apple vinegar and leather eased over the new make notes.

Brown sugar with traces of prunes and leather in the finish, plain but easy.

Thoughts:

The label says that the whiskey has only been “re-aged in maple syrup infused American white oak barrels”.

It is a successful incorporation of maple syrup with the profile now built almost solely around the influence instead of the spirit.

I do wonder about how much maple syrup was in turn infused into the grog..

-Nicholas

[55.0%・NAS・Bottled in 2015・Official Bottling・Cask No. DC014・Single Cask Release of 200 Bottles]

Nose:

Meat broth and leather seasoned with brown sugar. Cream powder, lavender flavoured car fragrance and blackcurrants jam. The spirit is so young I’d be surprised if it is barely legal.

Palate & Finish:

Blackcurrants and ginger with a whole lot of spiciness and dryness from the rye coming through. The white spirit is giving it an unrefined burn.

Wee finish of blackcurrant jam, mint and rye spices.

Thoughts:

There are a lot of words on the label but I’m not entirely sure collectively they mean anything..

I know this is not labeled as a whiskey and accordingly should be very young but still I cannot recommend this even though the off notes are not overtly repulsive.

-Nicholas

[50.0%・NAS・Bottled Circa 2014-2017・ Official Bottling・Single Cask Release of 86 Bottles]

Nose:

Heavy on the butyric acid to begin, teriyaki beef jerky, prawn broth, paw paw, green papaya salad.  Incredibly though, beneath the elaborated display of distillery identity, it’s still quite new make-y with a soured barley note.

Palate & Finish:

Green and spicy, very young and full of new make characters, sour plums with more cream powder and butyric acid, the Bourbon for cask only imparted minimal influence.

A swift gingery finish with some crushed pills bitterness.

Thoughts:

For years, friends have spoke of “the Grove Experience” and indeed this is spectacular, from the nose to the palate and finish, it’s even visually stimulating as the dram turns cloudy after being poured into the glass.

To call it the Loch Dhu of the South doesn’t quite do it justice, this may give the Whisky Castle Glenallachie a run of its money..

-Nicholas