Glenfarclas The Family Casks 34 Years Old 1980 Cask #3180

A 34 year old Glenfarclas, a distillery bottling, from 1980, cask 3180, at 46.2%, 357 bottles in all. Glenfarclas, the glen of green grass, is a richly sherried Speyside single malt. Direct firing chars the wash a little, lending the rich, nutty depth Glenfarclas is known for. Its slow, cool dunnage maturation loses very little to the angels each year. It holds some sixty eight thousand casks on site in dunnage warehouses, with stock from every year since 1953.

The spirit was taken gently through wash and spirit stills, giving a deep, full bodied Speyside spirit. A refill bourbon hogshead held it, keeping the full character to the fore. In its ethereal years the malt turns waxy and oxidative, faded esters and a whisper of sotolon over dark fruit. Long ageing turns the fresh notes towards date, prune and a dark, bittersweet chocolate. Years in oak deepen the spirit to a darker gold, the body growing rounder and more resinous with time.

At 46.2%, undiluted, it is dark and full. Raisin, chocolate and a warm spice, lifted by a sweet oak. A dark chocolate and a soft oak give it weight. It finishes long, full and fruity. This is a richly sherried Speyside single malt.