Glen Grant 1976 - 20 Year Old - First Cask - Single Cask 2880

Founded in 1840, Glen Grant is one of Speyside’s largest and greatest distilleries. The distillery became part of Seagram’s Chivas Brothers group in the 1970s, and was subsequently acquired in 2001 by Pernod Ricard, who sold Glen Grant to Campari in 2006. 

Glen Grant’s association with Italy goes back much further, however. Gordon & MacPhail were already licensed bottlers of Glen Grant in the 1960s when the two companies began a highly beneficial relationship with Italian hotelier and importer Armando Giovinetti which led directly to Glen Grant’s ongoing dominance of the Italian single malt market.

Glen Grant’s spirit is particularly well-suited to very long ageing in both bourbon and sherry casks, making it the perfect fit for Gordon & MacPhail who released a 72-year-old Glen Grant in 2020 and whose semi-official licensed bottlings of Glen Grant are legendary. Indie Glen Grants are abundant and are generally excellent value.

The First Cask range was a prolific series of single malt whisky bottlings by the UK’s largest mail order wine company Direct Wines Ltd, owner of Laithwaite’s and The Sunday Times Wine Club. From the early 1990s until the mid-Noughties Direct Wines released dozens of outstanding single cask whiskies annually under the First Cask label, almost all of which were bottled at 46%.

These whiskies were not particularly highly sought-after on release, probably because they were only sold online through a wine club.  Back then, of course, it was not widely known that the casks had been sourced from Signatory Vintage, which would certainly have raised their profile among whisky fans. Nowadays, although still frequently excellent value at auction, the First Cask collection - which includes hundreds of long-aged whiskies from distilleries including Brora, Port Ellen, Ardbeg and Macallan - is finally getting the recognition it deserves.