Glenfarclas The Family Casks 14 Years Old 2007

A 14 year old Glenfarclas, a distillery bottling, from 2007, cask 1258, at 60.9%, released for a whisky festival. Glenfarclas is a richly sherried Speyside single malt, run by the Grant family since 1865. It launched the 105 in 1968, one of the first cask strength single malts sold to the public.

It was taken gently through wash and spirit stills, for a weighty, nutty spirit the sherry then deepens. It was fully matured in an Oloroso sherry cask, the wood deep in the rich spirit. In integration coconut and vanilla knit with the malt, the orchard notes deepening to sultana, date and chocolate. Years in oak deepen the spirit to a darker gold, the body growing rounder and more resinous with time. The cool, slow dunnage ageing loses little to evaporation, the spirit holding its depth. The wood frames the spirit without ever stripping the full Speyside body.

At its natural 60.9% it is rich and chewy. A rich, sherried sweetness, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. A baked apple and a warm cinnamon lift the middle. The finish runs long, full and warming. This is a rich Speyside malt of dried fruit and nut.