Glenfarclas Christmas Edition 10 Years Old 2013

Glenfarclas from the distillery, a 10 year old, from 2013, at 46%, 4200 bottles in all. Glenfarclas is a Speyside single malt matured almost wholly in sherry casks from Jerez. Direct firing chars the wash a little, lending the rich, nutty depth Glenfarclas is known for. It launched the 105 in 1968, one of the first cask strength single malts sold to the public. It has been run by six generations of the Grant family, one of Scotch whisky's last truly independent houses. It holds some sixty eight thousand casks on site in dunnage warehouses, with stock from every year since 1953.

The spirit was worked unhurried through the stillhouse, giving a deep, full bodied Speyside spirit. It was matured in an Oloroso sherry cask, the wood working deep into the malt. By the integrating teens the raw notes fade and esters build, the rich spirit growing rounder and darker. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and a soft coconut over the fruit.

Reduced to 46%, it is mellow and sweet. Baked apple, honey and a dark chocolate, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. The body is full and rich, the fruit deep and dark. The finish runs long, full and warming. This is a Speyside single malt of real standing.