Scottish Distillers Try Their Hand At Single Grain Whiskies

Among Scotch whisky types, single malt releases are by far the most common offering sitting on retail shelves and in bars around the world. Single grain whiskies, by contrast, are little known outside of Scotland and make up a tiny percentage of the market. It usually exists instead as a primary ingredient for blended Scotch, but there are a few trying their hand at releases met to stand on their own. One of these is William Grant & Sons, which is releasing from its Lowland grain whisky distillery Girvan two new expressions.

The Girvan Patent Still Single Grain No. 4 Apps and 30 Year Old releases are said to be aimed at “whisky lovers looking to experiment.” Both are produced under something known as the Girvan Patent Still Process, which has been refined over time since the distillery’s opening in 1963. A continuous “vacuum distillation” method of cereal grains at lower temperatures, it reportedly results “in a very pure, clean-tasting grain spirit that balances perfectly with the vanilla notes from…American white oak casks during maturation.”

The N0.4 Apps release, pricing around $75 per 42% ABV bottling, is the first non-age statement whisky to be released under the Girvan brand. It is described by the distillery as being “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 older 30 year old expression, meanwhile, prices around $630. Laid to rest for three decades in first fill American Oak barrels, tasting notes from Girvan indicate it 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.”

Plans call for both expressions to be available in the UK, Europe, US and Asia.