Glenfarclas The Family Casks 44 Years Old 1962

Glenfarclas from the distillery, a 44 year old, from 1962, cask 2645, at 54.8%, 166 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 six stills are the largest in Speyside and among the very few still fired directly, now by gas. Its whiskies are bottled at their natural colour, without chill filtration. It has been run by six generations of the Grant family, one of Scotch whisky's last truly independent houses.

The spirit was drawn from a thick, heavy wash, shaping a rich Speyside body with real weight. It was fully matured in an Oloroso sherry cask, the wood deep in the rich spirit. At a great, fragile age oxidation rules, sotolon lending maple and dried fig as beeswax and old leather linger. The cool, slow dunnage ageing loses little to evaporation, the spirit holding its depth.

At a natural 54.8% it is full and rich. A rich, sherried sweetness, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. A dark chocolate and a soft oak give it weight. The finish runs long, full and warming. This is a rich Speyside malt of dried fruit and nut.