Glenfarclas The Family Casks 24 Years Old 2000

Glenfarclas from the distillery, a 24 year old, from 2000, cask 3287, at 51.8%, 610 bottles in all. Glenfarclas is a Speyside single malt, the house behind the pioneering 105 cask strength. It was licensed in 1836 under Robert Hay and bought in 1865 by John Grant for 511 pounds. Direct firing chars the wash a little, lending the rich, nutty depth Glenfarclas is known for.

It was distilled in copper pot stills, the direct fired stills lending a nutty depth. Maturation came in an Oloroso sherry cask, layered over the full Glenfarclas make. Through the evaporative decades the esters fold into raisin, fig, beeswax and a bittersweet chocolate. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and a soft coconut over the fruit. The cool, slow dunnage ageing loses little to evaporation, the spirit holding its depth. Years in oak deepen the spirit to a darker gold, the body growing rounder and more resinous with time.

At a hearty 51.8% it carries real weight. 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 richly sherried Speyside single malt.