Glenfarclas 10 Years Old UD (UD – bottler)

A Glenfarclas of a 10 year old chosen by UD - bottler, at 56.8%, one of 60 bottles. Glenfarclas is a Speyside single malt from Ballindalloch, in the heart of Speyside. It launched the 105 in 1968, one of the first cask strength single malts sold to the public. Its six stills are the largest in Speyside and among the very few still fired directly, now by gas. Its slow, cool dunnage maturation loses very little to the angels each year.

It was distilled to a rich, generous cut, for the rich, sherried make Glenfarclas is known for. It was matured in refill ex-Bourbon oak, a soft vanilla beneath the fruit. By the integrating teens the raw notes fade and esters build, the rich spirit growing rounder and darker. Years in oak deepen the spirit to a darker gold, the body growing rounder and more resinous with time. Maturation runs slow and even in the dunnage warehouses at Ballindalloch.

At its natural 56.8% it is rich and chewy. Date, fig and a warm cinnamon, lifted by a sweet oak. Fig, honey and a dark chocolate fill the middle. A long finish carries raisin, chocolate and a treacle. This is a full bodied Speyside single malt of real richness.