Glenfarclas Limited Rare Bottling 16 Years Old 1991

A distillery release of Glenfarclas, a 16 year old, from 1991, cask see note, at 46%, 2400 bottles in all. Glenfarclas is a Speyside single malt, the house behind the pioneering 105 cask strength. Direct firing chars the wash a little, lending the rich, nutty depth Glenfarclas is known for. It draws on that deep inventory for the Family Casks, single vintages reaching back to the 1950s. Its whiskies are bottled at their natural colour, without chill filtration.

Distilled in copper pot stills, for a weighty, nutty spirit the sherry then deepens. An Oloroso sherry cask held it, drawing the rich spirit on over the years. At oxidative maturity aldehydes lend a nutty edge while ellagitannins draw a drying, structured grip across the fruit. The cool, slow dunnage ageing loses little to evaporation, the spirit holding its depth. Maturation runs slow and even in the dunnage warehouses at Ballindalloch.

At 46% it is smooth and rich. A rich, sherried sweetness, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. A baked apple and a warm cinnamon lift the middle. The close is rich and dark, fruit over a warm spice. This is a rich Speyside malt of dried fruit and nut.