Glenfarclas The Family Casks 34 Years Old 1980 Cask #1233

Glenfarclas from the distillery, a 34 year old, from 1980, cask 1233, at 42.5%, a festival cask. Glenfarclas is a richly sherried Speyside single malt, run by the Grant family since 1865. It draws on that deep inventory for the Family Casks, single vintages reaching back to the 1950s. Direct firing chars the wash a little, lending the rich, nutty depth Glenfarclas is known for. It holds some sixty eight thousand casks on site in dunnage warehouses, with stock from every year since 1953.

It was distilled in copper pot stills, shaping a rich Speyside body with real weight. Maturation came in ex-Bourbon wood, the oak gentle behind the spirit. In its ethereal years the malt turns waxy and oxidative, faded esters and a whisper of sotolon over dark fruit. Years in oak deepen the spirit to a darker gold, the body growing rounder and more resinous with time. Long ageing turns the fresh notes towards date, prune and a dark, bittersweet chocolate.

At 42.5% it is rich, fruity and deep. Raisin, chocolate and a warm spice, lifted by a sweet oak. A baked apple and a warm cinnamon lift the middle. Dried fruit, spice and a soft oak see it out. This is a deep, sherried Speyside single malt.