Glenfarclas 11 Years Old 2011 (SMWS 1.284)

An 11 year old Glenfarclas from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, distilled in 2011, from cask 1.284, at 64%, a festival cask. Glenfarclas, the glen of green grass, is a richly sherried Speyside single malt. It has been run by six generations of the Grant family, one of Scotch whisky's last truly independent houses. It holds some sixty eight thousand casks on site in dunnage warehouses, with stock from every year since 1953. Its water rises from the granite of Ben Rinnes, above the distillery at Ballindalloch.

It was distilled to a rich, generous cut, the direct fired stills lending a nutty depth. Maturation came in an Oloroso sherry cask, layered over the full Glenfarclas make. By the integrating teens the raw notes fade and esters build, the rich spirit growing rounder and darker. Long ageing turns the fresh notes towards date, prune and a dark, bittersweet chocolate.

At 64%, undiluted, it is dark and full. A rich, sherried sweetness, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. A dark chocolate and a soft oak give it weight. A deep finish ends on dried fruit and a dark chocolate. This is a Speyside single malt of real standing.