Glenfarclas The Family Casks 13 Years Old 1994 Cask #2935

Glenfarclas from the distillery, a 13 year old, from 1994, cask 2935, at 59.6%, 628 bottles in all. Glenfarclas is a Speyside single malt, one of the last great family owned distilleries in Scotch. Direct firing chars the wash a little, lending the rich, nutty depth Glenfarclas is known for. Its water rises from the granite of Ben Rinnes, above the distillery at Ballindalloch.

It was taken gently through wash and spirit stills, shaping a rich Speyside body with real weight. It was matured in an Oloroso sherry cask, the wood working deep into the malt. Through integration spirit and wood marry, vanillin rounding out as esters lend riper orchard fruit and a chocolate depth. Maturation runs slow and even in the dunnage warehouses at Ballindalloch. Active wood drives the maturation, the cask deep in the malt. The full spirit deepens with time, the cask drawing out its darker register.

At 59.6%, undiluted, it is dark and full. Orange, raisin and a treacle edge, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. It is full and fruity, the spirit carrying the cask. The close is rich and dark, fruit over a warm spice. This is a full bodied Speyside single malt of real richness.