Glenfarclas 2001 Heritage

Glenfarclas from the distillery, a 10 year old, from 2001, at 45%. Glenfarclas, the glen of green grass, is a richly sherried Speyside single malt. Its whiskies are bottled at their natural colour, without chill filtration. It was licensed in 1836 under Robert Hay and bought in 1865 by John Grant for 511 pounds.

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. By the integrating teens the raw notes fade and esters build, the rich spirit growing rounder and darker. The wood frames the spirit without ever stripping the full Speyside body. Active wood drives the maturation, the cask deep in the malt. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and a soft coconut over the fruit. The cool, slow dunnage ageing loses little to evaporation, the spirit holding its depth.

Bottled at 45%, it is rounded and full. A rich, sherried sweetness, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. A dark chocolate and a soft oak give it weight. The finish runs long, full and warming. This is a deep, sherried Speyside single malt.