Glenfarclas 50 Years Old (Family Collector Series III)

A 50 year old Glenfarclas, a distillery bottling, at 41.1%, 937 bottles in all. Glenfarclas, the glen of green grass, is a richly sherried Speyside single malt. Its six stills are the largest in Speyside and among the very few still fired directly, now by gas. Its water rises from the granite of Ben Rinnes, above the distillery at Ballindalloch. Direct firing chars the wash a little, lending the rich, nutty depth Glenfarclas is known for.

It was run slowly off the spirit still, for the rich, sherried make Glenfarclas is known for. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, oak lactones lending a creamy vanilla. Ethereal and fragile, the decades draw it to a resinous, waxy depth of dried fruit, treacle and old oak. The full spirit deepens with time, the cask drawing out its darker register. Long ageing turns the fresh notes towards date, prune and a dark, bittersweet chocolate. Maturation runs slow and even in the dunnage warehouses at Ballindalloch.

At 41.1% it is smooth and rich. Date, fig and a warm cinnamon, lifted by a sweet oak. Dried fruit and a treacle sit behind the spice. The finish runs long, full and warming. This is a rich Speyside malt of dried fruit and nut.