Glenfarclas 10 Years Old (Europe Exclusive)

A 10 year old Glenfarclas, a distillery bottling, at 40%. Glenfarclas is a Speyside single malt from Ballindalloch, in the heart of Speyside. It has been run by six generations of the Grant family, one of Scotch whisky's last truly independent houses.

Worked unhurried through the stillhouse, giving a deep, full bodied Speyside spirit. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, oak lactones lending a creamy vanilla. By the integrating teens the raw notes fade and esters build, the rich spirit growing rounder and darker. The cool, slow dunnage ageing loses little to evaporation, the spirit holding its depth. Maturation runs slow and even in the dunnage warehouses at Ballindalloch. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and a soft coconut over the fruit. The full spirit deepens with time, the cask drawing out its darker register. The wood frames the spirit without ever stripping the full Speyside body.

Reduced to 40%, it is mellow and sweet. Orange, raisin and a treacle edge, lifted by a sweet oak. Fig, honey and a dark chocolate fill the middle. The finish is rounded, dark and spiced. This is Glenfarclas's deep, fruity Speyside style.