Glenfarclas The Family Casks 20 Years Old 1993

A 20 year old Glenfarclas, a distillery bottling, from 1993, cask 3944, at 56.4%, released for a whisky festival. Glenfarclas is a Speyside single malt matured almost wholly in sherry casks from Jerez. It launched the 105 in 1968, one of the first cask strength single malts sold to the public.

It was distilled in copper pot stills, shaping a rich Speyside body with real weight. An Oloroso sherry cask held it, drawing the rich spirit on over the years. Through oxidative maturity the esters concentrate, the orchard notes turning to raisin, fig and a dark chocolate. Long ageing turns the fresh notes towards date, prune and a dark, bittersweet chocolate. The full bodied spirit takes active sherry wood well, carrying its dark sugars through the years. The cool, slow dunnage ageing loses little to evaporation, the spirit holding its depth.

Bottled at a cask strength 56.4%, it is deep and concentrated. Baked apple, honey and a dark chocolate, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. The body is full and rich, the fruit deep and dark. A deep finish ends on dried fruit and a dark chocolate. This is a Speyside single malt of real standing.