Glenfarclas The Spirit of Independence 20 Years Old 1977

A 20 year old Glenfarclas, a distillery bottling, from 1977, at 43%, 1200 bottles in all. Glenfarclas is a Speyside single malt drawn from the largest, direct fired stills in Speyside. It holds some sixty eight thousand casks on site in dunnage warehouses, with stock from every year since 1953. Its whiskies are bottled at their natural colour, without chill filtration.

The spirit was distilled in copper pot stills, building a deep malt of dried fruit and dark sugar. An ex-Bourbon barrel shaped it, vanillin and a soft coconut under the malt. At oxidative maturity aldehydes lend a nutty edge while ellagitannins draw a drying, structured grip across the fruit. The wood frames the spirit without ever stripping the full Speyside body. The full spirit deepens with time, the cask drawing out its darker register. The full bodied spirit takes active sherry wood well, carrying its dark sugars through the years.

Reduced to 43%, it is mellow and sweet. A deep, dark sweetness, lifted by a sweet oak. A baked apple and a warm cinnamon lift the middle. The finish is rounded, dark and spiced. This is a richly sherried Speyside single malt.