I knew this release was coming, but it wasn’t really one I was really anticipating. Let’s face it…this was not going to be in the same sort of league as the rather legendary 175th Anniversary release which was said to have included casks from as far back as the 1950s.

Having said that, I adore Glenfarclas. I think y’all know that by now. It’s just that this 185th Anniversary release was bound to be younger, bound to be rooted squarely in the more contemporary school of malts. In other words, I’m dancing around one of those ‘back in my day’ type of stories.

But even if that is the case, let’s just say that it’s good to be back in Ballindalloch. Even if only in a virtual and vicarious sense.

I’ve probably been a wee bit snobby and concentrated a tick more heavily on the Family Casks and older expressions from Glenfarclas in recent years than I should have, often to the unintentional neglect of the core range. Said range is ticking along just fine, I might add; it’s just that, well, those low ABVs, George. I know bumping ’em all to 46% is not in the cards (and would absolutely shitcan that cracker of a tale about your grandfather’s initiative to hold the 15year old to a higher proof), but reaching for the sub-46s can be an exercise in willful delusion sometimes. Love the flavors, hate the anemic texture. Anyway, rest easy. This suiting tribute to 185 years of Glenfarclas is a worthy addition to the larder.

Congrats to our friends at Glenfarclas. I’d normally say, ‘can’t wait to see what the future brings’, but so long as you’re chugging away being you, it sorta feels like all is right in the malt-o-sphere.

46% abv. 6,000 bottles. Not a heavyweight, by any means, but robust and oily, and perfectly comfortable on the palate.

Tasting Notes

Nose: Wow. Kinda…dare I say…old school-ish, in terms of sherry profile. Old barrel. Creme caramel and raspberry reduction. Lightly peppered white dough. MacIntosh apple. Raisin butter tarts. Musty purple grape. Caramel Macchiato. A bit mince-y.
Linseed. Antique wood.

Palate: Absolutely, infinitely, unquestionably Glenfarclas. Almost certainly the legacy of those direct-fired wash stills, which always give a lightly sharp burnt note on the palate (especially the finish). Old toothy Armagnac. Orange peel. Fennel. Slightly root-y. A hint of mulled cider. Dry cinnamon buns. Some rather bitter, dark fruit notes. Edging into those tangy, tropicals I love.

Finish: Quite herbal, actually, once the fruit notes back down. Dandelion. Burnt grain. Pleasant, if tannic. And longish.

Thoughts: Clean, flawless sherry casks and almost the Platonic form of Glenfarclas. Others seem to be finding a few more vibrant fruits than I am, but I’m okay with the more integrated melange I’m getting.

88/100

Glenfarclas 25 y.o.

43% abv

Score:  88/100

A late night stop in a local spirit seller last night landed me a couple bottles of the old standby, Glenfarclas 15, at the rock bottom price of $65 a piece.  If you’ve been following current whisky trends (and I’m sure you have) you’ll know that quality affordable age-stated malts are pretty close to a critically endangered species nowadays.  You can imagine my delight at finding such a score just blocks from home.

It was also cause for reflection.  While I’ve drunk ridiculous amounts of Glenfarclas over the years, I’ve not yet reviewed nearly as many as I should have.  Something to be remedied in the coming days, I think.  Let’s face it…second only to Springbank, Glenfarclas is the ‘be all, end all’ in traditional whisky making, and that is something that places this distillery in the top tiers of my own personal favorites.

So having said all of that, let’s dig into an iconic malt from this old school family owned and operated Speyside juggernaut.  Here we have Glenfarclas 25.  This is a whisky that tends to get glossed over in favour of the always available 15, the bombastic 105 or the rather exceptional 40 (largely depending on your personal tax bracket, of course).  The fact of the matter is, though, that this is a great dram at a more than fair price point.  It delivers almost exactly what I’d expect, and always feels like a bit of a homecoming.  Quite highly recommended.

Nose:  Jammy sherry notes with a hint of toasted caramel and sticky vanilla pod.  Apple, stewed stone fruit and tobacco.  Spicy wood notes.  Red ju-jubes and fresh cinnamon.  Crème brûlée and grilled orange zest.  Warm and familiar.

Palate:  Oh wow.  Great delivery.  Turns to apples and oranges first before plunging deeper into dried fruits and the warming buzz of all things sherry (spice, chocolate, raisin and all things Christmas cake-like).  There is a heft of fruit peel (slightly drying) and toasted wood.  Speaking of toasted notes, perhaps some roasted marshmallow.  A slight nuttiness; walnut, I think, with maybe some almond.

Thoughts:  Not the cleanest or most exciting of the Glenfarclas range, but a great old dram nonetheless.  Always a treat to revisit.

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Glenfarclas 21 y.o.

43% abv

Score:  84/100

I keep asking myself if I’m missing something with this whisky.  A trusted mate of mine swears by it…I love most of what comes out of Glenfarclas, arguably one of Speyside’s(*) finest distilleries…the age at which this is bottled is a sweet spot for many whiskies…the price is great.  But at the end of the day it hurts me to give this one nothing more then a passing grade.

Credit where credit is due, however, this is a much better ‘noser’ than ‘sipper’.  The nose has some of those shimmering ephemeral qualities I so adore in mature whisky, and some of the individual nuances are a ‘coat-of-many-colors’ brilliant tapestry, coming together to provide a striking whole.  Sadly, it sort of all unravels as it spreads across the tongue.  The arrival is ok, but it quickly fizzles and leaves me almost confused.  Another sip…nope…same thing.  I’m now down to the last dram of the bottle and my impression hasn’t changed in the slightest.  As you can see, I’m nothing if not persistent.  😉  All in the name of good research.

Oh well.  They can’t all be exceptional.  As I said, I love Glenfarclas.  Almost unconditionally.  I’ll simply go elsewhere in the range to get my fill.

Nose:  Milk and white chocolate mousse.  A nice dusting of cinnamon.  Scones, sugar cookies and mild ginger snaps.  A few floral (perfume-y?) notes and fruitcake, heavy in almond paste.  Just an echo of old dunnage warehouse.  Comes together nicely. 

Palate:  For the love of all that Glenfarclas does right, I can’t wrap my head around the 43% here.  Seems far too light a delivery for such an old-school heavy style malt.  Black currant and jam.  Salt toffee.  Kinda malty.  Immediately turns to barley and all the sweetness falls off.  There’s simply nothing left to sweeten up the dry grains.  Not a fan of the finish.  It’s odd (and maybe it’s just me), but much like the recent batches of the 15, it almost seems to hit a fishy note at the back end.  Like a cedar-grilled salmon or something.

(*) Yes, yes…’Highlands’ on the bottle, but  this is from the heart of Speyside.

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Glenfarclas 105 20 y.o.

60% abv

Score:  91.5/100

The younger standard Glenfarclas 105, which I’m certain many of you have tried, succeeds primarily because of the youthful exuberance of its bold and unrestrained sherry.  Oftentimes though, you’ll find that younger whiskies still haven’t ironed out all their kinks.  While I certainly can’t say that that is the case with the afore-mentioned Glenfarclas 105, I can say that once you’ve tried that bold flavour profile it’s hard not to wonder what the whisky would be like with a few more years of maturation behind it.

Fortunately, the Grant family have allowed us that opportunity, in releasing the Glenfarclas 105 20 year old.  The same massive 60% abv…the same sexy dark hues, but in striking new packaging and with an entirely new market niche.  So…let’s have a look at what another 10-15 years in the cask does to this heavyweight sherried charmer.

Short answer…a lot.  This is a vastly different dram from the standard bottling.  The differences are a little deeper than simple variations on a theme too.  The younger edition is vibrant and lush, while this one bears a lot more dark, dry and monolithic heft.  Very much individual entities, both.  While immediately notably different, it took me a good while to wrap my head around this one and decide what exactly it was that worked here vs what worked on the younger 105.  Needless to say, it was an enjoyable session of nosing/tasting.

In the end…I’ll give the extra marks to this one.

Nose:  A lot of chocolate.  Much deeper and darker than its younger stable mate.  Cinnamon and old leather.  Some surprising floral notes.  More sulphur than I’m used to seeing on a Glenfarclas, though still not a lot.  The fruits (deep purples and reds…a la plum, raspberry, strawberry, prune) are buried beneath a roof of dark chocolate.  A deep inhalation is needed to really set ’em free.  After a while, when the sulphur note fades (and it does fade, if not quite disappearing), the nose is incredibly mature and sophisticated.  Distant waft of latex.  Cigar.

Palate:  Touch of sulphur again.  Very mouthcoatingly jammy; almost like a smear of mixed red berry jam and sticky toffee pudding across the roof and sides of the mouth.  This is so heavy it’s practically pulling the corners of my mouth down.  If only all malts had this texture.  Orange and raisin.  The palatal equivalent of dunnage warehouse aroma.

Took a while to score this one.  I would highly suggest a good ten minutes in the glass with the occasional swirl before giving this serious consideration.

Have I mentioned how much I love this distillery?

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Glenfarclas

Glenfarclas 105

60% abv

Score:  90.5/100

Glenfarclas 105 was one of the first whiskies I ever shared notes for years ago when I first starting nattering online about whisky and such.  Much like looking back at your awkward teenage years, there’s an element of ‘oh dear gawd, really?’ when I looked back at the review and notes.

Also…it was an older batch from years back, so why not revisit, right?

Though it’s not very widely trumpeted, batch variation (let’s call it that, even though these aren’t really touted as ‘batch’ releases or anything) in the Glenfarclas 105 is as much a reality as it is the industry’s other true young sherried heavyweight, Aberlour a’bunadh.  It’s simply the nature of the game, and I’m ok with it.  Let’s allow these things to evolve.  Our insistence on consistency (with the exception of an insistence on consistent quality) is the reason we ended up with chill filtration, caramel colouring and homogenous blending practices.  Malt whisky is about strength of character, not conformity and subtlety.  Forget fitting in.

Glenfarclas is a Speyside distillery that enjoys unusually high esteem amongst those in the whisky spheres.  The long line of Georges and a John who have run this family-led operation through the generations have done an exceptional job of crafting a line of whiskies that have garnered them global accolades.  And rightfully so.  Traditional, quality and independence are all values held in esteem by the Grant family.

The ‘105’ in question here is actually in reference to the old British proofing system.  Whereas now this 60%’er would be considered 120 proof, under the old Brit way it was 105 proof.  Clear as mud?

This NAS (No Age Statement) release is a startlingly beautiful whisky.  Not my favorite, but exceptionally composed and one to be mulled over with plenty of time and good company.

For a unique tasting experience, try doing a horizontal tasting with this, the Aberlour a’bunadh and the Macallan Cask Strength.  That should fill your youthful sherry quotient for the year.

Nose:  The smell of empty, but wet wine barrels or sherry butts.  Fudge and milk chocolate give an overall éclair-like aroma.  Caramel pudding.  Berry puree.  Raisin and currants.  Espresso.  Pipe tobacco.  Cinnamon and sweet barley notes.  Strawberry rhubarb pie (sweet and tart).  Hint of marmalade.  Thick moist rummy fruitcake.  Touch Bovril or Beef Oxo.

Palate:  Somewhat leathery (odd, I know…sorta meaty, really).  Pepper over mincemeat.  Rum.  Cough syrup and coffee.  Eucalyptus.  Touch of hot rubber.  Wow, is this big.  Aenesthetizing.  Love it.

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Glenfarclas 40 y.o.

46% abv

Score:  92.5/100

Glenfarclas rocked the whisky world a few years back when they released this stunner of a 40 year old whisky for an absolutely lowball price (less than $500 a bottle).  Kinda made us all stop and question the recent antics of a couple other distilleries that keep jacking prices and marketing their wares as the next uber-whisky.  Won’t name names, but I imagine you know who they are.

Glenfarclas has always been a personal favorite whisky.  High quality output, traditional and old school presentation and great price point.  From young to old, the distillery’s whisky is quite good.  The older releases though – especially the family casks – can be quite the stunners.  Fortunately for us Glenfarclas is sitting on a brilliant stock of very mature whisky.  We should be able to see older releases from this family-run Speyside distillery for ages to come.

Generally with Glenfarclas, it’s expected you’ll get a very balanced, heavily sherried malt.  Caramel and spice-rich, with loads of chololate and raisin.  As a general profile…it’s a delight.  A great building block to build upon through years of maturation.

So the question is…what does 40 years of aging do to a whisky like this?  Will it be too much?  Over-oaked?  Bitter?  Nah…not a chance.  This is a highlight whisky.  One of the best ‘Farclas I’ve tasted to date.

Nose:  Deep and rich.  Some caramel and Glossette Raisins.  Beautiful threads of vibrant jammy notes.  Some orange and cherry.  Paint.  Wow…what a striking balance.  Nearly flawless.

Palate:  Sweet and juicy.  Again…those macerated fruit/jammy notes.  Some chocolate.  Some tobacco.  Some licorice.

This is truly a textbook example of well-aged mature sherried whisky.  Beautiful integration of all elements.

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt