Glenfarclas The Family Casks 19 Years Old 1993

A distillery release of Glenfarclas, a 19 year old, from 1993, cask 74, at 58.7%, 627 bottles in all. Glenfarclas is a Speyside single malt, one of the last great family owned distilleries in Scotch. Its water rises from the granite of Ben Rinnes, above the distillery at Ballindalloch. Its slow, cool dunnage maturation loses very little to the angels each year. Direct firing chars the wash a little, lending the rich, nutty depth Glenfarclas is known for.

The spirit was taken gently through wash and spirit stills, for a weighty, nutty spirit the sherry then deepens. Maturation came in an Oloroso sherry cask, layered over the full Glenfarclas make. Into oxidative maturity, slow air builds ripe esters and a darker chocolate, fig and date depth. The wood frames the spirit without ever stripping the full Speyside body. Maturation runs slow and even in the dunnage warehouses at Ballindalloch.

At 58.7%, undiluted, it is dark and full. Orange, raisin and a treacle edge, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. It is full and fruity, the spirit carrying the cask. A long finish carries raisin, chocolate and a treacle. This is a richly sherried Speyside single malt.