Glenfarclas The Family Casks 16 Years Old 1994

A distillery release of Glenfarclas, a 16 year old, from 1994, cask 3629, at 59.3%, 609 bottles in all. Glenfarclas is a Speyside single malt from Ballindalloch, in the heart of Speyside. It draws on that deep inventory for the Family Casks, single vintages reaching back to the 1950s. Its water rises from the granite of Ben Rinnes, above the distillery at Ballindalloch.

Worked unhurried through the stillhouse, for a weighty, nutty spirit the sherry then deepens. Maturation came in an Oloroso sherry cask, layered over the full Glenfarclas make. Through oxidative maturity the esters concentrate, the orchard notes turning to raisin, fig and a dark chocolate. Active wood drives the maturation, the cask deep in the malt. 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.

At 59.3%, undiluted, it is dark and full. A rich, sherried sweetness, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. It is full and fruity, the spirit carrying the cask. Dried fruit, spice and a soft oak see it out. This is the family sherry malt of Ballindalloch.