Glenfarclas The Warehouse Collection 70 Years Old 1953

Glenfarclas from the distillery, a 70 year old, from 1953, at 42.9%, 262 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. Its six stills are the largest in Speyside and among the very few still fired directly, now by gas. Direct firing chars the wash a little, lending the rich, nutty depth Glenfarclas is known for.

Taken gently through wash and spirit stills, for a weighty, nutty spirit the sherry then deepens. 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. Years in oak deepen the spirit to a darker gold, the body growing rounder and more resinous with time. Maturation runs slow and even in the dunnage warehouses at Ballindalloch.

Bottled at a cask strength 42.9%, it is deep and concentrated. A deep, dark sweetness, 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 deep, sherried Speyside single malt.