Glenfarclas The Family Casks 15 Years Old 2008

A 15 year old Glenfarclas, a distillery bottling, from 2008, cask 262, at 59.1%, 542 bottles in all. Glenfarclas, the glen of green grass, is a richly sherried Speyside single malt. Direct firing chars the wash a little, lending the rich, nutty depth Glenfarclas is known for. It holds some sixty eight thousand casks on site in dunnage warehouses, with stock from every year since 1953.

It was distilled to a rich, generous cut, the direct fired stills lending a nutty depth. 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. Long ageing turns the fresh notes towards date, prune and a dark, bittersweet chocolate. The full bodied spirit takes active sherry wood well, carrying its dark sugars through the years.

Bottled at a cask strength 59.1%, it is deep and concentrated. Baked apple, honey and a dark chocolate, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. Beneath it run dried fruit, dark sugar and a warm spice. The finish runs long, full and warming. This is a Speyside single malt of real standing.