What’s it like to spend six decades in the whisky industry and make a single malt dedicated after yourself? The Glen Grant’s Dennis Malcolm details the highlights of a spirited career
Dennis Malcolm doesn’t like birthdays—because that reminds him that he’s a year older. He much prefers his work anniversaries with The Glen Grant because that means another year notched up at work, doing what he loves to do. He has been named an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, and received the first-ever Spirit of Speyside award in 2015.
The long-time master distiller is 60-years young at The Glen Grant, which he first joined as an apprentice cooper at 15 years old. He believes he was destined to join the industry, being born in a house on the grounds of The Glen Grant and following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, who both worked for the distillery.
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A Worthy Dram
Picking a cask worthy of Dennis’ six-decade anniversary fell on him personally, but he was well prepared. “I selected this Oloroso Sherry cask a while ago for its taste and aroma, and I opened it this year which is 60 years from when I started at The Glen Grant. As I drew the liquid out, I could see the beautiful chestnut colour,” Dennis describes over a video call. He vividly recalls being around 10 years old and collecting glossy brown chestnuts from the huge tree on the grounds of The Glen Grant. The brilliant deep autumn gold colour of those chestnuts has stuck in his memory ever since and is how he describes the remarkable colour of The Dennis Malcolm 60th Anniversary Edition.
Describing the profile, he describes, “Aroma wise, first you get ripe Seville orange, then soft fruits – not apples and pears, as might be typical in this region, but apricots and peaches, and the nuts to me are pecan, with a little soft hint of cigar smoke. Prior to 1973 when I knocked down the maltings and doubled the distillery, the liquid at The Glen Grant was made with a little bit of peated malt.” On the palate, he calls it “liquid Christmas cake – a very dense fruitcake with orange, sultanas, raisins and covered with marzipan on top.” Layers of dark chocolate and treacle notes lead to a very long, lingering finish, still with the delicate hint of smoke.
Bottled at 52.8% and non-chill filtered, just 360 bottles of The Glen Grant The Dennis Malcolm 60th Anniversary Edition have been produced, with only 10 available in Singapore. Each decanter that holds the liquid takes over 15 hours to be meticulously crafted in the shape of the distillery’s slender tall stills, a feat undertaken in mouth-blown crystal glass by Glencairn Studio and presented in a sustainable walnut case. Each case is engraved with Dennis’ signature and includes a certificate of authenticity personally signed by Dennis.
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