Glenfarclas The Family Casks 18 Years Old 2002

This official Glenfarclas, an 18 year old, from 2002, cask 900285, at 57.8%, 599 bottles in all. Glenfarclas is a Speyside single malt, the house behind the pioneering 105 cask strength. It draws on that deep inventory for the Family Casks, single vintages reaching back to the 1950s. It has been run by six generations of the Grant family, one of Scotch whisky's last truly independent houses. Its whiskies are bottled at their natural colour, without chill filtration.

Distilled in copper pot stills, for the rich, sherried make Glenfarclas is known for. An ex-Bourbon barrel shaped it, vanillin and a soft coconut under the malt. At oxidative maturity aldehydes lend a nutty edge while ellagitannins draw a drying, structured grip across the fruit. The cool, slow dunnage ageing loses little to evaporation, the spirit holding its depth. The full bodied spirit takes active sherry wood well, carrying its dark sugars through the years.

At its natural 57.8% it is rich and chewy. A rich, sherried sweetness, lifted by a sweet oak. A dark chocolate and a soft oak give it weight. A deep finish ends on dried fruit and a dark chocolate. This is a richly sherried Speyside single malt.