Country: Scotland
Brand: Glenfarclas
Type: Single Malt Whisky
Region: Speyside
Age: 12 Years
Alcohol: 43%
Date: 21/03/2011
Colour: Gold/Amber
Nose: First impressions include Malt, Oak, Dried Fruits (Raisins) and Nut-Cake. Tones of Honeyed Sherry and Grass and a bit of Salt. Hardly any alcohol present. After a while I find very light Peat and a bit of Chocolate. There is a light sweetness but it’s not dominating. Pleasant but not overly complex nose.
Taste: Sweet Caramel and Sherry. Some Spice (Ginger and Cinnamon) and Salt. Oak. A light bitterness as in Orange Zest.
Finish: Quite Long with lingering Caramel, Sherry and Oak. In the end there are some distinct Earth Notes. Quite interesting that.
I added a couple of drops of water that brought out more Peat and Floral/Grassy tones to the Nose. It also enhances the Sherry and Spices on the Palate. And the finish becomes more Fruity while maintaining the Earthy tones right at the end. The bottling at 43% certainly allows you to experiment with a couple of drops.
Rating: 87
Nose: 21,5– Taste: 22– Finish: 22 – Overall: 21,5
General Remarks: The Glenfarclas Distillery was founded in 1805 and is still in the hands of the children of the founders, the Grant family. That’s extremely rare these days. Maintaining quality and a distinct Speyside character will certainly have helped to survive all these years.
Drinking Experience Neat: Good
Conclusion: I have tasted the 10 Years expression in late 2011. While there are certainly some similarities, the two years extra have mellowed the whisky down. The nose of the 10 Year was more adventurous but the taste and finish of the 12 year are much more mature and balanced. So while I like and recommend them both, the 12 Years slightly beats his younger brother.
Jan van den Ende March 21, 2012
