Glenfarclas All Malt Unblended Scotch Whisky 5 Years Old 1971

This official Glenfarclas, a 5 year old, from 1971, at 40%, a festival bottling. Glenfarclas is a Speyside single malt, the house behind the pioneering 105 cask strength. Its six stills are the largest in Speyside and among the very few still fired directly, now by gas. Its spirit is matured almost wholly in sherry butts brought up from Jerez. Direct firing chars the wash a little, lending the rich, nutty depth Glenfarclas is known for.

It was distilled in copper pot stills, building a deep malt of dried fruit and dark sugar. A bourbon barrel held it, the wood adding a soft honey over the fruit. At an extractive age eugenol lends a clove note and lactones a coconut, the spirit rich, fruity and full. Active wood drives the maturation, the cask deep in the malt. 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.

At 40% it is smooth and rich. A rich, sherried sweetness, lifted by a sweet oak. A baked apple and a warm cinnamon lift the middle. Dried fruit, spice and a soft oak see it out. This is the family sherry malt of Ballindalloch.