Glenfarclas The Family Casks 39 Years Old 1976

A distillery release of Glenfarclas, a 39 year old, from 1976, cask 3110, at 45.9%, 591 bottles in all. Glenfarclas is a Speyside single malt, one of the last great family owned distilleries in Scotch. It holds some sixty eight thousand casks on site in dunnage warehouses, with stock from every year since 1953. It draws on that deep inventory for the Family Casks, single vintages reaching back to the 1950s.

The spirit was drawn from a thick, heavy wash, the direct fired stills lending a nutty depth. A refill bourbon hogshead held it, keeping the full character to the fore. Ethereal and fragile, the decades draw it to a resinous, waxy depth of dried fruit, treacle and old oak. The full bodied spirit takes active sherry wood well, carrying its dark sugars through the years. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and a soft coconut over the fruit.

Bottled at a cask strength 45.9%, it is deep and concentrated. A rich orchard sweetness and dark sugar, lifted by a sweet oak. A baked apple and a warm cinnamon lift the middle. It finishes long, full and fruity. This is a deep, sherried Speyside single malt.