Glenfarclas The Family Casks 21 Years Old 1996

A 21 year old Glenfarclas, a distillery bottling, from 1996, cask 1498, at 52.4%, 581 bottles in all. Glenfarclas, the glen of green grass, is a richly sherried Speyside single malt. Its water rises from the granite of Ben Rinnes, above the distillery at Ballindalloch. Its whiskies are bottled at their natural colour, without chill filtration. Direct firing chars the wash a little, lending the rich, nutty depth Glenfarclas is known for. It launched the 105 in 1968, one of the first cask strength single malts sold to the public.

Distilled in copper pot stills, for a weighty, nutty spirit the sherry then deepens. It was fully matured in an Oloroso sherry cask, the wood deep in the rich spirit. At oxidative maturity aldehydes lend a nutty edge while ellagitannins draw a drying, structured grip across the fruit. The full spirit deepens with time, the cask drawing out its darker register.

Bottled at a cask strength 52.4%, it is deep and concentrated. A rich orchard sweetness and dark sugar, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. The mouthfeel is full and coating, the fruit dark and sweet. The finish is long, rich and spiced. This is a Speyside single malt of real standing.