Glenfarclas 22 Years Old (Oloroso)

A 22 year old Glenfarclas, a distillery bottling, at 60%, 3600 bottles in all. Glenfarclas is a Speyside single malt from Ballindalloch, in the heart of Speyside. Direct firing chars the wash a little, lending the rich, nutty depth Glenfarclas is known for.

The spirit was worked unhurried through the stillhouse, shaping a rich Speyside body with real weight. An Oloroso sherry cask held it, drawing the rich spirit on over the years. Through the evaporative decades the esters fold into raisin, fig, beeswax and a bittersweet chocolate. 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. The full spirit deepens with time, the cask drawing out its darker register. The wood frames the spirit without ever stripping the full Speyside body. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and a soft coconut over the fruit.

At 60%, undiluted, it is dark and full. Raisin, chocolate and a warm spice, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. A dark chocolate and a soft oak give it weight. The finish is long, rich and spiced. This is a deep, sherried Speyside single malt.