Glenfarclas 40 Years Old Scottish Classic (The Jolly Beggars)

Glenfarclas from the distillery, a 40 year old, at 43%, 600 bottles in all. Glenfarclas is a Speyside single malt, one of the last great family owned distilleries in Scotch. Direct firing chars the wash a little, lending the rich, nutty depth Glenfarclas is known for. Its spirit is matured almost wholly in sherry butts brought up from Jerez. Its six stills are the largest in Speyside and among the very few still fired directly, now by gas.

It was drawn from a thick, heavy wash, building a deep malt of dried fruit and dark sugar. Maturation came in an Oloroso sherry cask, layered over the full Glenfarclas make. In its ethereal years the malt turns waxy and oxidative, faded esters and a whisper of sotolon over dark fruit. Maturation runs slow and even in the dunnage warehouses at Ballindalloch. Active wood drives the maturation, the cask deep in the malt.

Reduced to 43%, it is mellow and sweet. Raisin, chocolate and a warm spice, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. A baked apple and a warm cinnamon lift the middle. A long finish carries raisin, chocolate and a treacle. This is a richly sherried Speyside single malt.