Glenfarclas The Family Casks 18 Years Old 2003

An 18 year old Glenfarclas, a distillery bottling, from 2003, cask 1964, at 58.1%, 610 bottles in all. Glenfarclas is a richly sherried Speyside single malt, run by the Grant family since 1865. Its six stills are the largest in Speyside and among the very few still fired directly, now by gas. 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.

The spirit was distilled in copper pot stills, for a weighty, nutty spirit the sherry then deepens. A bourbon barrel held it, the wood adding a soft honey over the fruit. At oxidative maturity aldehydes lend a nutty edge while ellagitannins draw a drying, structured grip across the fruit. The wood frames the spirit without ever stripping the full Speyside body. The full bodied spirit takes active sherry wood well, carrying its dark sugars through the years.

At 58.1%, undiluted, it is dark and full. A deep, dark sweetness, lifted by a sweet oak. A baked apple and a warm cinnamon lift the middle. The close is rich and dark, fruit over a warm spice. This is a richly sherried Speyside single malt.