Glenfarclas Christmas Edition 9 Years Old 2008

This official Glenfarclas, a 9 year old, from 2008, cask 3032,3046-3048,3051, at 46%, 2400 bottles in all. Glenfarclas is a Speyside single malt, one of the last great family owned distilleries in Scotch. Its six stills are the largest in Speyside and among the very few still fired directly, now by gas. Direct firing chars the wash a little, lending the rich, nutty depth Glenfarclas is known for. Its slow, cool dunnage maturation loses very little to the angels each year.

Drawn from a thick, heavy wash, shaping a rich Speyside body with real weight. It was matured in refill ex-Bourbon oak, a soft vanilla beneath the fruit. At an extractive age eugenol lends a clove note and lactones a coconut, the spirit rich, fruity and full. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and a soft coconut over the fruit. The full spirit deepens with time, the cask drawing out its darker register.

Bottled at 46%, it is rounded and full. Date, fig and a warm cinnamon, lifted by a sweet oak. Beneath it run dried fruit, dark sugar and a warm spice. The finish runs long, full and warming. This is a rich Speyside malt of dried fruit and nut.