Glenfarclas Premium Edition 12 Years Old 2006

Glenfarclas from the distillery, a 12 year old, from 2006, at 46%, 4602 bottles in all. Glenfarclas, the glen of green grass, is a richly sherried Speyside single malt. Its slow, cool dunnage maturation loses very little to the angels each year. Its whiskies are bottled at their natural colour, without chill filtration. Direct firing chars the wash a little, lending the rich, nutty depth Glenfarclas is known for. It was licensed in 1836 under Robert Hay and bought in 1865 by John Grant for 511 pounds.

The spirit was distilled to a rich, generous cut, the direct fired stills lending a nutty depth. It was fully matured in an Oloroso sherry cask, the wood deep in the rich spirit. By the integrating teens the raw notes fade and esters build, the rich spirit growing rounder and darker. Years in oak deepen the spirit to a darker gold, the body growing rounder and more resinous with time.

Bottled at 46%, it is rounded and full. 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. A deep finish ends on dried fruit and a dark chocolate. This is a dark, fruity Speyside single malt.