Glenfarclas Single Cask 12 Years Old 2011

A distillery release of Glenfarclas, a 12 year old, from 2011, cask 1244, at 60%, 286 bottles in all. Glenfarclas, the glen of green grass, is a richly sherried Speyside single malt. It launched the 105 in 1968, one of the first cask strength single malts sold to the public. It draws on that deep inventory for the Family Casks, single vintages reaching back to the 1950s. It was licensed in 1836 under Robert Hay and bought in 1865 by John Grant for 511 pounds.

The spirit was drawn from a thick, heavy wash, shaping a rich Speyside body with real weight. Maturation came in an Oloroso sherry cask, layered over the full Glenfarclas make. 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. Maturation runs slow and even in the dunnage warehouses at Ballindalloch.

Bottled at a cask strength 60%, it is deep and concentrated. A deep, dark sweetness, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. Fig, honey and a dark chocolate fill the middle. The finish is rounded, dark and spiced. This is a dark, fruity Speyside single malt.