Glenfarclas The Family Casks 22 Years Old 1999

A distillery release of Glenfarclas, a 22 year old, from 1999, cask 1202, at 58.2%, 543 bottles in all. Glenfarclas is a Speyside single malt, one of the last great family owned distilleries in Scotch. It was licensed in 1836 under Robert Hay and bought in 1865 by John Grant for 511 pounds. Its six stills are the largest in Speyside and among the very few still fired directly, now by gas.

Distilled to a rich, generous cut, for a weighty, nutty spirit the sherry then deepens. An Oloroso sherry cask held it, drawing the rich spirit on over the years. Through the evaporative decades the esters fold into raisin, fig, beeswax and a bittersweet chocolate. The full bodied spirit takes active sherry wood well, carrying its dark sugars through the years. Long ageing turns the fresh notes towards date, prune and a dark, bittersweet chocolate. The full spirit deepens with time, the cask drawing out its darker register.

At 58.2%, undiluted, it is dark and full. A rich, sherried sweetness, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. A baked apple and a warm cinnamon lift the middle. A long finish carries raisin, chocolate and a treacle. This is a richly sherried Speyside single malt.