Glenfarclas 21 Years Old (Europe Exclusive)

This official Glenfarclas, a 21 year old, at 43%. Glenfarclas is a Speyside single malt matured almost wholly in sherry casks from Jerez. It was licensed in 1836 under Robert Hay and bought in 1865 by John Grant for 511 pounds.

Distilled in copper pot stills, for a weighty, nutty spirit the sherry then deepens. An ex-Bourbon barrel shaped it, vanillin and a soft coconut under the malt. Through oxidative maturity the esters concentrate, the orchard notes turning to raisin, fig and a dark chocolate. Long ageing turns the fresh notes towards date, prune and a dark, bittersweet chocolate. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and a soft coconut over the fruit. The full bodied spirit takes active sherry wood well, carrying its dark sugars through the years. Maturation runs slow and even in the dunnage warehouses at Ballindalloch. Years in oak deepen the spirit to a darker gold, the body growing rounder and more resinous with time.

Bottled at 43%, it is rounded and full. A rich, sherried sweetness, lifted by a sweet oak. Dried fruit and a treacle sit behind the spice. A deep finish ends on dried fruit and a dark chocolate. This is a Speyside single malt of real standing.