A wonderfully sherried 15 year old dram from Glenfarclas, boasting oodles of dried fruit notes. It’s bottled at 46% ABV simply because this was the strength that George Grant’s grandfather preferred it at. Happily, this also results in the Speysider boasting a big, juicy, Christmas cake profile. A fabulously complex Scotch while also being easily drinkable.
Intense, powerful sherry. Cream sherry, certainly – Pedro Ximenez? almost… a touch of peppermint? An almost rancio quality to this. Smells older than 15.
Raisins, more sherry, orange peel, walnuts, dates.
Incredibly long, complex, more of the walnuts again.
Water draws out sweetness. This is Christmas cake, not whisky. Simply astonishing.
Fab whisky was bought it for a bday and loved it so much we bought it for the father in law for xmas x
Master of Malt's description of 'Christmas Cake' is spot on. This is very rich, sweet and delectable scotch whisky; on par with, say, Glenfiddich 15. Was taken a bit taken back by its heavy sherry influence at first, but with a wee bit of water it calmed down and I love it. Would absolutely buy it again.
If you love ex-bourbon barrel aged whiskies AND ex-sherry cask aged whiskies, this is truly the heavenly balance. To be honest, I don't know if they use ex-bourbon barrels for this one, but it's not this lame 1st fill ex-sherry cask prune juice. To me it's prevalent aroma on the nose is cheesecake, yes. It smells of graham crust (not impossible with oak influences) and, well creme cheese. The body is dark fruits with pleasant dark chocolate bitterness in the finish. A bit of water brings citrus in the front nose wise.
If you like the flavor of whisky aged in a sherry cask, you will love this one. I'm on my third or fourth bottle now. It is one of my all time favorites. It is well deserving of the high praise it receives. There are only a handful of drams that get a 10 from me. This is one of them.
This is probably THE whisky by which I judge the rest. The very distinct Glenfarclas taste is what I think of when I long for a classic Speyside whisky. When compared with its price, this is definitely a 10/10. A must-have for any whisky lover.
