Glenfarclas Christmas Edition 11 Years Old 2010

Glenfarclas from the distillery, an 11 year old, from 2010, at 46%, 5400 bottles in all. Glenfarclas is a Speyside single malt from Ballindalloch, in the heart of Speyside. Its water rises from the granite of Ben Rinnes, above the distillery at Ballindalloch.

The spirit was worked unhurried through the stillhouse, the direct fired stills lending a nutty depth. Maturation came in an Oloroso sherry cask, layered over the full Glenfarclas make. In integration coconut and vanilla knit with the malt, the orchard notes deepening to sultana, date and chocolate. The full bodied spirit takes active sherry wood well, carrying its dark sugars through the years. The wood frames the spirit without ever stripping the full Speyside body. Maturation runs slow and even in the dunnage warehouses at Ballindalloch. The cool, slow dunnage ageing loses little to evaporation, the spirit holding its depth.

At an approachable 46% it is soft and fruity. A rich orchard sweetness and dark sugar, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. Dried fruit and a treacle sit behind the spice. A deep finish ends on dried fruit and a dark chocolate. This is a richly sherried Speyside single malt.