Glenfarclas The Family Casks 23 Years Old 1983

A 23 year old Glenfarclas, a distillery bottling, from 1983, cask 50, at 56%, 302 bottles in all. Glenfarclas is a richly sherried Speyside single malt, run by the Grant family since 1865. Its whiskies are bottled at their natural colour, without chill filtration. It launched the 105 in 1968, one of the first cask strength single malts sold to the public. Direct firing chars the wash a little, lending the rich, nutty depth Glenfarclas is known for.

Taken gently through wash and spirit stills, building a deep malt of dried fruit and dark sugar. Maturation came in an Oloroso sherry cask, layered over the full Glenfarclas make. In the oxidative, evaporative years the spirit concentrates to dried fruit, dark chocolate and a waxy, resinous depth. The full spirit deepens with time, the cask drawing out its darker register. The cool, slow dunnage ageing loses little to evaporation, the spirit holding its depth.

At 56%, undiluted, it is dark and full. A rich, sherried sweetness, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. A baked apple and a warm cinnamon lift the middle. Dried fruit, spice and a soft oak see it out. This is Glenfarclas's deep, fruity Speyside style.