Glenfarclas The Family Casks 16 Years Old 2008

A distillery release of Glenfarclas, a 16 year old, from 2008, cask 2112, at 57.7%. Glenfarclas is a Speyside single malt, one of the last great family owned distilleries in Scotch. It was licensed in 1836 under Robert Hay and bought in 1865 by John Grant for 511 pounds. It holds some sixty eight thousand casks on site in dunnage warehouses, with stock from every year since 1953.

It was distilled in copper pot stills, building a deep malt of dried fruit and dark sugar. Ex-Bourbon casks held it, the American oak lending vanilla and a light honey. Into oxidative maturity, slow air builds ripe esters and a darker chocolate, fig and date depth. 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 a natural 57.7% it is full and rich. A rich orchard sweetness and dark sugar, lifted by a sweet oak. Dried fruit and a treacle sit behind the spice. The finish runs long, full and warming. This is a richly sherried Speyside single malt.