Glenfarclas Cask Strength 27 Years Old 1969

Glenfarclas from the distillery, a 27 year old, from 1969, cask 1254, at 54%, 204 bottles in all. Glenfarclas is a Speyside single malt, the house behind the pioneering 105 cask strength. Its slow, cool dunnage maturation loses very little to the angels each year. Direct firing chars the wash a little, lending the rich, nutty depth Glenfarclas is known for.

Distilled in copper pot stills, for the rich, sherried make Glenfarclas is known for. Ex-Bourbon casks held it, the American oak lending vanilla and a light honey. At this evaporative stage ellagitannins lend structure while oxidation builds a richer raisin and treacle. Maturation runs slow and even in the dunnage warehouses at Ballindalloch. The full spirit deepens with time, the cask drawing out its darker register. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and a soft coconut over the fruit. Active wood drives the maturation, the cask deep in the malt.

At 54%, undiluted, it is dark and full. Orange, raisin and a treacle edge, lifted by a sweet oak. A dark chocolate and a soft oak give it weight. It finishes long, full and fruity. This is a dark, fruity Speyside single malt.