Glenfarclas The Family Casks 23 Years Old 1995 Cask #6649

This official Glenfarclas, a 23 year old, from 1995, cask 6649, at 51.6%, 609 bottles in all. Glenfarclas, the glen of green grass, is a richly sherried Speyside single malt. It launched the 105 in 1968, one of the first cask strength single malts sold to the public. It holds some sixty eight thousand casks on site in dunnage warehouses, with stock from every year since 1953. It draws on that deep inventory for the Family Casks, single vintages reaching back to the 1950s.

Distilled in copper pot stills, for the rich, sherried make Glenfarclas is known for. Maturation came in an Oloroso sherry cask, layered over the full Glenfarclas make. In the oxidative, evaporative years the spirit concentrates to dried fruit, dark chocolate and a waxy, resinous depth. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and a soft coconut over the fruit. The wood frames the spirit without ever stripping the full Speyside body.

At 51.6%, undiluted, it is dark and full. A deep, dark sweetness, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. A baked apple and a warm cinnamon lift the middle. The finish is long, rich and spiced. This is Glenfarclas's deep, fruity Speyside style.