Glenfarclas The Family Casks 50 Years Old 1962 Cask #3247

Glenfarclas from the distillery, a 50 year old, from 1962, cask 3247, at 40.9%, 138 bottles in all. Glenfarclas is a Speyside single malt, one of the last great family owned distilleries in Scotch. It was licensed in 1836 under Robert Hay and bought in 1865 by John Grant for 511 pounds. Direct firing chars the wash a little, lending the rich, nutty depth Glenfarclas is known for.

Distilled in copper pot stills, building a deep malt of dried fruit and dark sugar. 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 cool, slow dunnage ageing loses little to evaporation, the spirit holding its depth. Maturation runs slow and even in the dunnage warehouses at Ballindalloch.

At 40.9%, undiluted, it is dark and full. A deep, dark sweetness, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. A baked apple and a warm cinnamon lift the middle. A long finish carries raisin, chocolate and a treacle. This is a Speyside single malt of real standing.