Glenfarclas 35 Years Old 1968 (Oloroso)

A 35 year old Glenfarclas, a distillery bottling, from 1968, at 43%. Glenfarclas is a Speyside single malt from Ballindalloch, in the heart of Speyside. It was licensed in 1836 under Robert Hay and bought in 1865 by John Grant for 511 pounds.

The spirit was drawn from a thick, heavy wash, building a deep malt of dried fruit and dark sugar. It was matured in an Oloroso sherry cask, the wood working deep into the malt. In its ethereal years the malt turns waxy and oxidative, faded esters and a whisper of sotolon over dark fruit. Long ageing turns the fresh notes towards date, prune and a dark, bittersweet chocolate. Years in oak deepen the spirit to a darker gold, the body growing rounder and more resinous with time. The wood frames the spirit without ever stripping the full Speyside body. The cool, slow dunnage ageing loses little to evaporation, the spirit holding its depth.

At an approachable 43% it is soft and fruity. A rich, sherried sweetness, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. The mouthfeel is full and coating, the fruit dark and sweet. The close is rich and dark, fruit over a warm spice. This is the family sherry malt of Ballindalloch.