Glenfarclas The Family Casks 26 Years Old 1996

A distillery release of Glenfarclas, a 26 year old, from 1996, cask 852, at 55.4%, 582 bottles in all. Glenfarclas is a richly sherried Speyside single malt, run by the Grant family since 1865. Direct firing chars the wash a little, lending the rich, nutty depth Glenfarclas is known for. Its water rises from the granite of Ben Rinnes, above the distillery at Ballindalloch. It draws on that deep inventory for the Family Casks, single vintages reaching back to the 1950s.

It was taken gently through wash and spirit stills, for the rich, sherried make Glenfarclas is known for. It was matured in refill ex-Bourbon oak, a soft vanilla beneath the fruit. 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. Maturation runs slow and even in the dunnage warehouses at Ballindalloch.

Bottled at a cask strength 55.4%, it is deep and concentrated. A deep, dark sweetness, lifted by a sweet oak. The body is full and rich, the fruit deep and dark. The finish runs long, full and warming. This is a dark, fruity Speyside single malt.