Glenfarclas The Family Casks 53 Years Old 1961

A 53 year old Glenfarclas, a distillery bottling, from 1961, cask 3055, at 41.7%, 138 bottles in all. Glenfarclas is a Speyside single malt from Ballindalloch, in the heart of Speyside. It has been run by six generations of the Grant family, one of Scotch whisky's last truly independent houses.

The spirit was distilled in copper pot stills, the direct fired stills lending a nutty depth. Maturation came in an Oloroso sherry cask, layered over the full Glenfarclas make. In its ethereal years the malt turns waxy and oxidative, faded esters and a whisper of sotolon over dark fruit. Years in oak deepen the spirit to a darker gold, the body growing rounder and more resinous with time. Active wood drives the maturation, the cask deep in the malt. The full bodied spirit takes active sherry wood well, carrying its dark sugars through the years.

At 41.7%, undiluted, it is dark and full. Baked apple, honey and a dark chocolate, 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 a Speyside single malt of real standing.