William Grant’s 26 Year Old Ghosted Reserve (70cl, 42%)

William Grant’s 26 Year Old Ghosted Reserve is a whisky. Aged 26 years, bottled at 42% ABV, 70cl. Company founder William Grant first began to sell blended whisky in 1898, a dozen years after the Grant family had established Glenfiddich distillery in the village of Dufftown. A number of names were given to early blends created by Grants, however, the one that stuck, was Standfast after the Grant clan motto ‘Standfast Craigellachie!’. In 1903 William Grant recruited his son-in-law Charles Gordon to the family firm as sales director, in order to establish a base in Glasgow from which to sell Standfast, aided by William’s third son, Charles. The pair set up a duty-paid warehouse in the Gorbals district of the city, and somewhat unconventionally, the premises occupied the basement of the Gorbals Parish Church. In 1957 it appeared in its now familiar triangular bottle, designed by Hans Shleger, a refugee from Nazi Germany. Having been known until the mid-1980’s as Grant’s Standfast, the blend was re-branded as Grant’s Family Reserve, reflecting the fact that William Grant & Sons remains an independent company in family ownership. The key grain component is sourced from Grant’s own Girvan distillery in Ayrshire, while principal malts (among the 25 or so that go into the blend) include the firm’s own Glenfidddich, Balvenie, Kininvie and Ailsa Bay whiskies. This spooky blended malt from William Grant’s Rare Cask Reserve range contains whisky from two silent distilleries selected by Master Blender Brian Kinsman. Inverleven, which was mothballed in 1991 and Ladyburn which was closed its doors in 1975. Ladyburn/Inverleven Please note staining to carton