Glenfarclas The Family Casks 21 Years Old 1985

A 21 year old Glenfarclas, a distillery bottling, from 1985, cask 2826, at 46.3%, 329 bottles in all. Glenfarclas is a Speyside single malt, one of the last great family owned distilleries in Scotch. Direct firing chars the wash a little, lending the rich, nutty depth Glenfarclas is known for. Its water rises from the granite of Ben Rinnes, above the distillery at Ballindalloch. Its six stills are the largest in Speyside and among the very few still fired directly, now by gas.

Worked unhurried through the stillhouse, for a weighty, nutty spirit the sherry then deepens. It was matured in an Oloroso sherry cask, the wood working deep into the malt. At oxidative maturity aldehydes lend a nutty edge while ellagitannins draw a drying, structured grip across the fruit. Maturation runs slow and even in the dunnage warehouses at Ballindalloch. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and a soft coconut over the fruit.

At an approachable 46.3% it is soft and fruity. A deep, dark sweetness, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. A baked apple and a warm cinnamon lift the middle. It finishes long, full and fruity. This is Glenfarclas's deep, fruity Speyside style.