Glenfarclas 15 Years Old (54.2%)

This official Glenfarclas, a 15 year old, at 54.2%. Glenfarclas is a Speyside single malt matured almost wholly in sherry casks from Jerez. Its whiskies are bottled at their natural colour, without chill filtration. It launched the 105 in 1968, one of the first cask strength single malts sold to the public. It holds some sixty eight thousand casks on site in dunnage warehouses, with stock from every year since 1953. Direct firing chars the wash a little, lending the rich, nutty depth Glenfarclas is known for.

Drawn from a thick, heavy wash, for a weighty, nutty spirit the sherry then deepens. It was matured in refill ex-Bourbon oak, a soft vanilla beneath the fruit. Through oxidative maturity the esters concentrate, the orchard notes turning to raisin, fig and a dark chocolate. The full spirit deepens with time, the cask drawing out its darker register. Years in oak deepen the spirit to a darker gold, the body growing rounder and more resinous with time.

Bottled at a cask strength 54.2%, it is deep and concentrated. A rich, sherried sweetness, lifted by a sweet oak. Fig, honey and a dark chocolate fill the middle. The finish is long, rich and spiced. This is a Speyside single malt of real standing.