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.
I first received a corked bottled: inflated gray/blueish cork, strong nose of sulphur, tastes like the nose. Impossible to recognize something else than this horrible smell. Master of malt cordially replaced this bottle, thanks a lot for that. The second bottle is equal to what has been said here: a christmas cake, seems older than 15yo, spicy, raisins, wallnuts, oranges etc... It would have been perfect if only... Sulphur wasn't still there. The sulphured taste is discernable, among the others delicious flavors, precisely on the final notes of the taste, and on the finish. The cork is intact on the second bottle, it doesn't seems moldy like the first one, so I guess this sulphur taste comes from the sherry cask. Quite disappointed by this dram.
Amazing carmello koala nose that tastes like Cadbury's fruit and nut chocolate. Fruity and nutty. The best way to enjoy this is to load up an eyedropper and drink it one drop at a time. Gives you time to explore the amazing Cadbury's fruit and nut chocolate taste. Seriously have to try this. A bottle lasted two years drinking it this way.
This is just superb! It screams sherry from the nose to the palate! It is 46% so a tad on the strong side. However, this enhances its powerful flavour. Certainly one of my MANY favourites - up there in my top 10! Anyone would think that this is much older than a 15.
OK, so malt whisky is all about personal preference (unless you think Highland Commisioner is better than 16yr Lagavulin, in which case you are just wrong), so I'm not going to preach to anyone about how good this is. I like peaty smoke, I really do, but I'll always lean towards a sherried Speyside first. If you are like me then buy one of these; This is without a doubt the best whisky I have ever had, and I've just finished a Balvenie 15yr Single Barrel which was outstanding. This Glenfarclas is not like most sherried malts which are blended from a mixture of bouron or white oak whisky and sherried cask - it spends it's entire (mimimum of) 15 years in sherry casks, given that most of the whisky in here is much older than this (it just has to be) it's a heavy little beast. Simply stunning.
Just ordered my second bottle, this stuff is gorgeous.
