Glenfarclas The Family Casks 45 Years Old 1966

This official Glenfarclas, a 45 year old, from 1966, cask 4186, at 51.1%, 461 bottles in all. Glenfarclas is a Speyside single malt drawn from the largest, direct fired stills in Speyside. Its water rises from the granite of Ben Rinnes, above the distillery at Ballindalloch. Its slow, cool dunnage maturation loses very little to the angels each year.

Worked unhurried through the stillhouse, shaping a rich Speyside body with real weight. Maturation came in an Oloroso sherry cask, layered over the full Glenfarclas make. Ethereal and fragile, the decades draw it to a resinous, waxy depth of dried fruit, treacle and old oak. The full spirit deepens with time, the cask drawing out its darker register. The wood frames the spirit without ever stripping the full Speyside body. Active wood drives the maturation, the cask deep in the malt. Long ageing turns the fresh notes towards date, prune and a dark, bittersweet chocolate.

At 51.1%, undiluted, it is dark and full. A deep, dark sweetness, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. The mouthfeel is full and coating, the fruit dark and sweet. The finish runs long, full and warming. This is Glenfarclas's deep, fruity Speyside style.