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16th April 2014 |
The Girvan
Patent Still adds No. 4 Apps and 30 Year
Old expressions to its range.
 Following
on from the release of
The Girvan Patent Still 25 Year Old
which was launched exclusively in the UK
at the end of last year William Grants &
Sons have announced the release of
two more single grain whiskies produced at their
Girvan grain distillery. The two
new single grain expressions are The
Girvan Patent Still No. 4 Apps and 30 Year
Old.
The Girvan Patent Still No. 4 Apps
which carries a price tag of £45, was bottled at
42% ABV and is the first, No Age
Statement whisky to be released by the
new single grain whisky brand. The name ‘Apps’
is quite an unusual name for a whisky,
it is a distillery
term for ‘Apparatus’; No.4 Apps has been
producing unique ‘vacuum distilled’
spirit at the Girvan grain distillery since 1992.
As many whisky drinkers will know,
whisky acquires much of its flavour and
character from the time it spends
maturing in the oak casks and this is
never more true than for grain whisky
so this is quite a
bold move to release a No Age
Statement (NAS) expression but it doesn't
necessarily mean that is is just young
whisky in the bottle. I haven't yet had the
chance to taste it but I will certainly
approach the NAS No.4 Apps with an
open mind (update, I have now tasted it,
see notes below).
William Grants & Sons tell me that the whisky
is deliciously light and fruity in
character, with notes of candied fruit
and cream, it has a subtle flavour with a
lovely balance of oak and crisp fruit.
The Girvan Patent Still 30 Year Old has
a price tag of £375 and like the rest of
the range was bottled at 42% ABV and is
the oldest expression of the new brand
to be launched to date having been laid
to rest for 30 years in first fill
American Oak barrels. William Grants
tell me that this is aimed at true
whisky aficionados, they say that the 30
year old expression has a rich, deep,
honey, candied orange and toffee fudge
flavour. With rich tannin notes and a
silky mouth coating, its flavour evolves
over time revealing tropical fruits,
banana, zesty notes and woody spice.
Packaging remains sleek and elegant. The
slender bottle has a light, elegant feel
to it and is available in a rigid box
with a ‘picture frame’ to show off
bottle and a metal badge on the side
panels for a truly premium finish.
The original Girvan Patent Still, known
affectionately as "No 1 Apps", a
distillery term for apparatus, was built
in 1963 under the stewardship of Charles
Gordon, a whisky production pioneer and
the great-grandson of William Grant. It
was the most advanced distillery in the
world at the time. Further innovation
led in 1992 to Charles pioneering
‘vacuum distillation’ with the
introduction of ‘No.4 Apps’. This
distillation at lower temperatures,
results in a very pure, clean-tasting
grain spirit that balances perfectly
with the vanilla notes from our American
white oak casks during maturation.
The Girvan Patent Still continuous
distillation method takes the finest
cereal grains to produce a very pure,
fruity and clean-tasting grain spirit,
which is lighter in aroma and character
than most malt whiskies. It is then
matured in first-fill American White
Oak, which adds flavour, character,
colour and complexity. Time mellows the
whisky, amplifies the aroma and enriches
the taste. Characterised by vanilla,
toffee, honey and caramelised fruit
notes, the whisky delivers a taste that
truly reflects William Grant & Sons’
pioneering distillation heritage.
Both The Girvan Patent Still Unveil 30
year old & No.4 Apps expressions will be
available in the UK plus additional
markets in Europe, US and Asia and will
be available to buy from April.
The Girvan Patent Still 25 year
old unveiled last year is currently
available from:
The Whisky Exchange
|
The Girvan Patent Still No.4 Apps Tasting
Notes
|
William
Morrison's Tasting Notes:
Nose: Fresh, clean, a
gentle vanilla sweetness, hint of pear
and a touch of lime.
Taste:
Delicate oak spice, creamy vanilla
sweetness coated in a lovely mild pear
fruitiness
Finish: A short refreshing finish
which gets spicier after a few
mouthfuls.
Comment:
The Girvan Patent Still No.4 Apps
doesn't carry an age statement and given
my past experience of young single grain
whisky, this certainly doesn't appear to
be just a young whisky. I have heard
that some of the whisky in the vatting
is up to 18 years old which would
confirm what I have tasted, that it is a
well constructed vatting of young and
old single grain whisky. It really is a
quality easy to drink whisky, subtle
flavours as you would expect from a
single grain whisky, I would say it is a
good mix of vibrant youthfulness and
maturity. Just a thought, if you have
ever fancied making your own quality
blended whisky then this would be
perfect as the grain whisky in the
blend.
SMW Single
Grain Whisky Score
86/100
Now available from The Whisky Exchange
|
The Girvan Patent Still 30 Year Old Tasting
Notes
|
William
Morrison's Tasting Notes:
Nose: A lovely balance of
mild coconut sweetness, honey, vanilla,
candied fruit.
Taste:
A delicious richness. The delivery
brings the sweet coconut and vanilla
from the nose coated in lovely mild
fizzy oak spices. Then comes some lovely
honey and candied orange.
Finish: An outstanding long
finish, slowly fading honey, vanilla and
oak spice, touch of drying sherry.
Comment:
This grain whisky can certainly hold its
own amongst the best single malts and it
is far removed from being the neutral
spirit that some consider grain whisky
to be. We now have a new whisky category
folks, "Original Distillery Bottling
Single Grain Scotch Whisky" but you will
need deep pockets to explore the best
that this new category has to offer, but
if you have the money I can say that
this Girvan Patent Still 30 Year Old
will not disappoint it is a stunning
example of what single grain whisky can
be.
SMW Single
Grain Whisky Score
93/100
Now available from The Whisky Exchange
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Where To Buy The Girvan Patent Still Whisky Online
|
|
Select a country for a list
of specialist Whisky shops who delivers
to you::
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