Glenfarclas The Family Casks 42 Years Old 1968

A 42 year old Glenfarclas, a distillery bottling, from 1968, cask 534, at 49.5%, 448 bottles in all. Glenfarclas is a Speyside single malt from Ballindalloch, in the heart of Speyside. Direct firing chars the wash a little, lending the rich, nutty depth Glenfarclas is known for. Its six stills are the largest in Speyside and among the very few still fired directly, now by gas. Its slow, cool dunnage maturation loses very little to the angels each year.

Run slowly off the spirit still, for a weighty, nutty spirit the sherry then deepens. An Oloroso sherry cask held it, drawing the rich spirit on over the years. At a great, fragile age oxidation rules, sotolon lending maple and dried fig as beeswax and old leather linger. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and a soft coconut over the fruit. The full bodied spirit takes active sherry wood well, carrying its dark sugars through the years.

At a hearty 49.5% it carries real weight. Raisin, chocolate and a warm spice, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. A baked apple and a warm cinnamon lift the middle. The finish runs long, full and warming. This is a dark, fruity Speyside single malt.