Glenfarclas Private Reserve (48%)

A Glenfarclas, a distillery bottling, at 48%, 6000 bottles in all. Glenfarclas is a Speyside single malt from Ballindalloch, in the heart of Speyside. It has been run by six generations of the Grant family, one of Scotch whisky's last truly independent houses. Direct firing chars the wash a little, lending the rich, nutty depth Glenfarclas is known for. Its whiskies are bottled at their natural colour, without chill filtration.

Taken gently through wash and spirit stills, shaping a rich Speyside body with real weight. A bourbon barrel held it, the wood adding a soft honey over the fruit. With no age statement, vanillin reads as vanilla and oak lactones as coconut over the rich, fruity spirit. Maturation runs slow and even in the dunnage warehouses at Ballindalloch. The cool, slow dunnage ageing loses little to evaporation, the spirit holding its depth.

Bottled at a cask strength 48%, it is deep and concentrated. Fig, walnut and a bittersweet chocolate, lifted by a sweet oak. The mouthfeel is full and coating, the fruit dark and sweet. It finishes long, full and fruity. This is a richly sherried Speyside single malt.