Glenfarclas The Family Casks 23 Years Old 1998

A 23 year old Glenfarclas, a distillery bottling, from 1998, cask 2937, at 58.2%, 616 bottles in all. Glenfarclas, the glen of green grass, is a richly sherried Speyside single malt. Its six stills are the largest in Speyside and among the very few still fired directly, now by gas. It draws on that deep inventory for the Family Casks, single vintages reaching back to the 1950s. It launched the 105 in 1968, one of the first cask strength single malts sold to the public.

It was drawn from a thick, heavy wash, building a deep malt of dried fruit and dark sugar. It was fully matured in an Oloroso sherry cask, the wood deep in the rich spirit. Through the evaporative decades the esters fold into raisin, fig, beeswax and a bittersweet chocolate. The full spirit deepens with time, the cask drawing out its darker register. Long ageing turns the fresh notes towards date, prune and a dark, bittersweet chocolate.

At 58.2%, undiluted, it is dark and full. A deep, dark sweetness, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. The body is full and rich, the fruit deep and dark. The finish runs long, full and warming. This is a full bodied Speyside single malt of real richness.