Glenfarclas The Family Casks 21 Years Old 1994

A 21 year old Glenfarclas, a distillery bottling, from 1994, cask 2957, at 55.4%, 120 bottles in all. Glenfarclas is a Speyside single malt, one of the last great family owned distilleries in Scotch. It launched the 105 in 1968, one of the first cask strength single malts sold to the public. It draws on that deep inventory for the Family Casks, single vintages reaching back to the 1950s.

The spirit was distilled to a rich, generous cut, giving a deep, full bodied Speyside spirit. It was matured in an Oloroso sherry cask, the wood working deep into the malt. Through oxidative maturity the esters concentrate, the orchard notes turning to raisin, fig and a dark chocolate. Years in oak deepen the spirit to a darker gold, the body growing rounder and more resinous with time. Maturation runs slow and even in the dunnage warehouses at Ballindalloch.

At a natural 55.4% it is full and rich. Orange, raisin and a treacle edge, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. A dark chocolate and a soft oak give it weight. A long finish carries raisin, chocolate and a treacle. This is a dark, fruity Speyside single malt.