Glenfarclas The Family Casks 20 Years Old 1994

This official Glenfarclas, a 20 year old, from 1994, cask 4319, at 56%, 640 bottles in all. Glenfarclas is a Speyside single malt from Ballindalloch, in the heart of Speyside. Its whiskies are bottled at their natural colour, without chill filtration. It was licensed in 1836 under Robert Hay and bought in 1865 by John Grant for 511 pounds.

Distilled to a rich, generous cut, shaping a rich Speyside body with real weight. Ex-Bourbon casks held it, the American oak lending vanilla and a light honey. 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. The wood frames the spirit without ever stripping the full Speyside body. The full spirit deepens with time, the cask drawing out its darker register. The cool, slow dunnage ageing loses little to evaporation, the spirit holding its depth.

At its natural 56% it is rich and chewy. Orange, raisin and a treacle edge, lifted by a sweet oak. A baked apple and a warm cinnamon lift the middle. A long finish carries raisin, chocolate and a treacle. This is the family sherry malt of Ballindalloch.