Glenfarclas Private Reserve (Limited Edition)

This official Glenfarclas, at 45%, 9990 bottles in all. Glenfarclas is a deep, dark Speyside malt of dried fruit, nut and spice. Its whiskies are bottled at their natural colour, without chill filtration.

The spirit was drawn from a thick, heavy wash, for the rich, sherried make Glenfarclas is known for. 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. The cool, slow dunnage ageing loses little to evaporation, the spirit holding its depth. Long ageing turns the fresh notes towards date, prune and a dark, bittersweet chocolate. The wood frames the spirit without ever stripping the full Speyside body. Years in oak deepen the spirit to a darker gold, the body growing rounder and more resinous with time. The full bodied spirit takes active sherry wood well, carrying its dark sugars through the years.

At 45% it is smooth and rich. Date, fig and a warm cinnamon, lifted by a sweet oak. A dark chocolate and a soft oak give it weight. It finishes long, full and fruity. This is a rich Speyside malt of dried fruit and nut.