Ahh Glenfarclas! Quite the revered speyside whisky and one of the last family owned distilleries. If you have ever heard of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, this is where it all started for them. The very first SMWS cask was a Glenfarclas. The distilleries reputation has recently been built upon their popular Glenfarclas 105 expression and their exceedingly old releases in the core range and in the Family Cask range. Unlike other distilleries which were managed by corporations, Glenfarclas has had the wise guidance of their owners, the Grant family, who were smart enough to keep producing whisky during the whisky recession. As a result have healthier stocks of aged whisky than most of their competitors. Hence the very old core expressions.
The 12 year old is a sherried style whisky and priced well considering all the rising prices in the whisky industry lately. Also nice to see that Glenfarclas is not moving toward the NAS trend like some other distilleries.
Distillery: Glenfarclas Distillery
Age: 12 Years Old
Cask: Ex-Sherry
ABV: 43%
Price: £36.79 at the Master of Malt
TheMadVatter
Nose
Strange sweet algae notes like a pond in summer bloom. Reminds me of the 15yo in that way. Kind of funky old wet oak notes. Gummy wines.
Taste
Fermented fruit juices with old wet dark oak tang. Stewed dark fruits. Over ripe black Berries. Slight sulphur tang. Waffles with Syrup and whipped cream.
Finish
Dry sherry sweetness and heavy wet wood like old beams after the rain. Stewed plums. Slight sulphur tang.
Rating
6.5
Afterthoughts
A bit weird for me with that algae and sulphur tang. Reminds me a bit of the 15 in that manner so if you like the 15 you’ll probably like this. I prefer the 21 and the 105. I seem to remember trying this a while ago and it didn’t have as much of the sulphury notes. Perhaps the new batches are a bit different than those of old?
Another thing to consider is that some people actually do not detect sulphur in whisky. It may sound weird but I think it is like the whole coriander/cilantro thing where for some people it tastes alright and others taste soap. So you might be in the camp that can’t really taste sulphur in whisky or don’t taste it as much. If so, you will definitely get different notes off this one.
Adventures in Whisky Land 