Grant’s is one of the major Scotch whisky producers and needs little introduction. Grant’s whiskies are available in every store, and alongside the standard Family Reserve blended Scotch, various flavored versions with 30% ABV have now been released. These cannot strictly be called whiskies; the label identifies the product as “spirit drink”—or a flavored spirit. In addition to Grant’s whisky, Winter Dessert contains sugar, natural chocolate and toffee flavorings. A 70 cl bottle was on special offer at the grocery store for €14.99.

In the glass, Winter Dessert is light brown, but it leaves thick “legs” on the sides when swirled, indicating a product that is sweeter than usual. The aroma is light and somewhat sweet; the Scotch whisky notes are mingled with soft hints of chocolate and toffee. The mouthfeel is soft and somewhat viscous, yet the sweetness level is quite moderate. The Grant’s whisky character dominates, with very faint hints of chocolate lingering in the background. A more generous use of spices would have been welcome, as the product currently leaves a rather bland impression. It feels essentially like a blended whisky diluted with water and softened with sugar, containing only a trace of the promised toffee and chocolate flavors. It is hard to say exactly what the product was aiming for. Being sweeter and lighter than standard whisky, it is certainly easy to sip, but the flavor offers nothing special or memorable. It feels like more effort went into the product’s appearance and bottle label than into the product itself. It clearly promises more than it delivers, and I certainly won’t be buying it again.

73/100