Glenfarclas The Family Casks 50 Years Old 1957

A 50 year old Glenfarclas, a distillery bottling, from 1957, cask 2, at 46.2%, 94 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 water rises from the granite of Ben Rinnes, above the distillery at Ballindalloch.

Drawn from a thick, heavy wash, for a weighty, nutty spirit the sherry then deepens. An Oloroso sherry cask held it, drawing the rich spirit on over the years. 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. The wood frames the spirit without ever stripping the full Speyside body. Maturation runs slow and even in the dunnage warehouses at Ballindalloch.

At its natural 46.2% it is rich and chewy. Raisin, chocolate and a warm spice, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. A dark chocolate and a soft oak give it weight. The finish is rounded, dark and spiced. This is a richly sherried Speyside single malt.