Glenfarclas Limited Rare Bottling 19 Years Old 1996

This official Glenfarclas, a 19 year old, from 1996, at 46%, 12000 bottles in all. Glenfarclas is a Speyside single malt, the house behind the pioneering 105 cask strength. It holds some sixty eight thousand casks on site in dunnage warehouses, with stock from every year since 1953. Its water rises from the granite of Ben Rinnes, above the distillery at Ballindalloch.

It was drawn from a thick, heavy wash, building a deep malt of dried fruit and dark sugar. Maturation came in an Oloroso sherry cask, layered over the full Glenfarclas make. At oxidative maturity aldehydes lend a nutty edge while ellagitannins draw a drying, structured grip across the fruit. The full bodied spirit takes active sherry wood well, carrying its dark sugars through the years. Years in oak deepen the spirit to a darker gold, the body growing rounder and more resinous with time. The cool, slow dunnage ageing loses little to evaporation, the spirit holding its depth.

At 46% it is smooth and rich. Baked apple, honey and a dark chocolate, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. A dark chocolate and a soft oak give it weight. It finishes long, full and fruity. This is a richly sherried Speyside single malt.