Glenfarclas The Family Casks 38 Years Old 1973

A 38 year old Glenfarclas, a distillery bottling, from 1973, cask 2598, at 56.5%, 456 bottles in all. Glenfarclas is a Speyside single malt, one of the last great family owned distilleries in Scotch. Its water rises from the granite of Ben Rinnes, above the distillery at Ballindalloch.

It was drawn from a thick, heavy wash, giving a deep, full bodied Speyside spirit. An Oloroso sherry cask held it, drawing the rich spirit on over the years. Ethereal and fragile, the decades draw it to a resinous, waxy depth of dried fruit, treacle and old oak. The full spirit deepens with time, the cask drawing out its darker register. Active wood drives the maturation, the cask deep in the malt. The wood frames the spirit without ever stripping the full Speyside body. Long ageing turns the fresh notes towards date, prune and a dark, bittersweet chocolate.

At 56.5%, undiluted, it is dark and full. Raisin, chocolate and a warm spice, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. Beneath it run dried fruit, dark sugar and a warm spice. Dried fruit, spice and a soft oak see it out. This is a Speyside single malt of real standing.