Glenfarclas The Family Casks 17 Years Old 2001 Cask #3353

A 17 year old Glenfarclas, a distillery bottling, from 2001, cask 3353, at 58.3%, 553 bottles in all. Glenfarclas is a richly sherried Speyside single malt, run by the Grant family since 1865. Its spirit is matured almost wholly in sherry butts brought up from Jerez. Direct firing chars the wash a little, lending the rich, nutty depth Glenfarclas is known for.

It was drawn from a thick, heavy wash, for a weighty, nutty spirit the sherry then deepens. An Oloroso sherry cask held it, drawing the rich spirit on over the years. Into oxidative maturity, slow air builds ripe esters and a darker chocolate, fig and date depth. The full spirit deepens with time, the cask drawing out its darker register. Maturation runs slow and even in the dunnage warehouses at Ballindalloch. Active wood drives the maturation, the cask deep in the malt. The wood frames the spirit without ever stripping the full Speyside body.

At a hearty 58.3% it carries real weight. A rich orchard sweetness and dark sugar, 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 richly sherried Speyside single malt.