Scotland, Speyside: Single malt whisky through the producing distilleries: history, making, production and tasting notes

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Glenfarclas

Description of the whisky

The distillery

Glenfarclas
Glenfarclas Distillery
Ballindalloch,
Banffshire
AB37 9BD
+44 1807 500 257
Owner: J&G Grant
Creation date 1836

Photos

Robert Hay founded the Glenfarclas distillery in 1844 with equipment from the Dandaliet distillery. When Robert Hay died in 1865, the distillery was taken over by John Grant, and is nowadays still in its family.
John rented the distillery for the 5 first years out to John Smith who built Cragganmore some years later. John Grant ran the distillery with his son George who died one year after his father. His wife Barbara inherited the distillery licence, and his two sons John and George Grant took over the business .
Glenfarclas is one of the few independent and familial distilleries from Scotland.
Grant sold 50% of the shares in 1896 to Patisson, Elder en Co to finance the alteration works. Despite a honest sharing of the profits, Patisson was bankrupt in 1899, and the distillery become the exclusive property of the Grant family again.
The current manager, John, represents the fifth generation of Grants in the management board of Glenfarclas.
The distillery was rebuild in 1897. The production capacity was doubled in 1960. Two more stills were installed in 1976.
The distillery was one of the first ones to market a cask strength version of its malt: the Glenfarclas 105.
Nearly half of the production is marketed as single malt, the remaining part being used in blends.

The whisky

A propos des notes de dégustation Your own tasting notes

List of the bottles

Description of the distillery

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 Glenfarclas: embouteillages officiels
 

Glenfarclas 12 years
Age
 12 years
Alcohol
 43°
Cask
 Sherry
Bottler
 Official
=25 euros< 25 euros
 
 The colour is amber with greenish glints. The nose is full, fresh, spicy and relatively creamy.
The palate, dryer, reveals liquorice , sherry and spicy hints, with a touch of peat.
The finis is long with hints of liquorice and grilled cereals. A very good whisky.

(la Maison du Whisky)

Despite its "screwed" top typical for cheaper spirits, this whisky is an absolute must among the Speyside whiskies. Some discrete hints of peat in a well balanced whisky, matured in sherry casks. The very interesting ration price-quality makes it a essential whisky in any good collection.

The nose is fresh, slightly peated with some pleasant sherry hints on the background. The palate is rather dry, and could be some "deeper", but has some interesting sherry notes, with a hint of peat on the background. A nice finish, too short, but pleasant.
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Glenfarclas 105
Age
 10 years
Alcohol
 60°
Particularity
 Cask Strength
Cask
 Sherry
Bottler
 Official
=25 euros< 25 euros
 
  The colour is gold with copper glints, the nose is strong and reveals dry fruit and toffee.
The palate is sweet and powerful, marked by honey hints.
The finish is dry, long and warming.

(La Maison du Whisky)

 This Glenfarclas version was one of the first cask strengths to be marketed. The whisky is good, but the very high alcohol percentage, with a rough feeling impeached me to quote it higher than 16. Lots of other cask strength whiskies do not have this slightly aggressive character. It stays a very good whisky, and I really recommend it, but please be careful...
The advantage of cask strength is that you can decide for yourself how much water you want to add..

A pleasant powerful nose on a sherry background, without too much nuances characterized the second tasting. The sherry remains present in the palate. The strength of the alcohol makes it rather difficult to detect the different hints of this robust drink. A rather pleasant finish crowns the whole.

A well marked and pungent nose, with sherry and dry apricot hints. In the palate, the high percentage of alcohol makes this whisky first rather aggressive before developing on nice woody and slighty bitter notes, and a kind of smoothness, between honey and malt, through clear acid touches. A lingering and warm finish.

Sherry clearly dominates the nose, and the alcohol percentages gives it a kind of pungent character. Nice fruity and fresh notes follow after a while. In the mouth, toffee mixes nicely with fruit, and some slightly bitter hints appear on the background. The finish is quite interesting, and the fuity character of this whisky is clearly present. Further is the finish rather long and pleasant.

Comments by Johannes Sauer

Colour:Deep brown, sherry, oily
Nose:At first a really sharp whiff of alcohol together with rubber tires. Later the rubber gives way to more buttery and sugary aromes (cane sugar) but we're never left without that unpleasant stingy spirity nose.
Palate.: Exactly like the nose. The rubbery taste always stays in the back, but especially with lots of water there is also a pleasant note of sweet fruits, dates and figs.
Finish: Astonishingly mild and short.
Conc.: A whisky for special occasions: I never had a single malt mixing that well with coke, lime and ice! It mixes better than most bourbons i tried. Glenfarclas rocks!

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Glenfarclas 21 years
Age
 21 years
Alcohol
 43°
Cask
 Sherry
Bottler
 Official
=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros< 25 euros
 
  The colour is amber. The nose is woody and smoky, and marked by sherry.
The full palate confirms the nose
The finish is long and sweet, and comes back on the sherry.

(la Maison du Whisky)

 The nose detects the sherry immediately. A very pleasant smell . The taste is very nice as well, and reveals hints of chocolate, wood of tobacco. A wonderful finish prolongs the pleasure for many minutes.
.
The second tasting rediscovered a wonderful whisky, slightly dominated by sherry, but revealing an unusual complexity of smells and tastes. A real pleasure. The finish is long and develops on sherry notes.

A rather sweet nose (sweet in the sense of not aggressive, not in the sense of sugared) with a presence of sherry on a discrete smoky background. The same sweetness in the palate where the very complex taste develops form sherry to chocolate through a slight woody taste. The finish is long, an and a slight woody aftertaste mixed with sherry hints crowns the whole. A very nice bottle.

The nose is marked by a discrete wood bitterness, with some smoke on the background. Dry fruits and some malt together with some tinglings. The palatte is pleasantly bitter, with nice slightly acid hints and a nice complexity, going from smoke to exotic fruits through nutty touches. A very nice finish too, marked by both chocolate and slightly acid notes and a kind of acidity.

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Glenfarclas 15 years
Age
 15 years
Alcohol
 46°
Cask
 Sherry
Bottler
 Official
=25 euros=25 euros< 25 euros
Glenfarclas 15 ans

This Speyside single malt has been matured in sherry casks and is both nicely balanced and vivid.
The color is amber, the clear nose is dominated by sherry, fine wood and smoked malted barley. The mouth confirms the nose with quite a long and smooth finish.
(la Maison du Whisky)
Very nice nose marked by spices. Strong sherry hints. Some smoke behind clear cereal smells. Light violet fragrances, the whole giving a nice balanced impression.
The mouth is first rather bitter, however very pleasant. This bitterness paradoxically gives a nice fresh impression, the spices give it its complex character which enhances the pleasure this bottle gives.
The finish is long and warm, and some bitter impression is rather present at the beginning, developing on notes closer to cereal.

A nice spicy nose with an obvious presence of sherry, even if the malty smoothness seems to dominate. Nice smoky notes appear after a while.
In the palate a mix of spicy bitterness and malty sweetness with a kind of acidity.
The finish is quid acid even if it remains warm and still keeps this bitter notes which make this whisky special.
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Glenfarclas: embouteilleages indépendants

Ballindalloch
Old Malt Cask
Distilled 1965
Aged 40 years

Age
 40 years
Alcohol
 50°
Cask
 Sherry
Bottler
 Douglas Laing
=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros
=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros< 25 euros
Glenfarclas Ballindalloch 1965
The colour of this whisky is amazingly dark and the nose is really fantastic, both smooth and complex, with clear sherry hints, very nice vanilla and toffee notes, the whole being very coherent in a remarkable sweetness.
The mouth is less interesting as it is first very bitter, the taste being too much marked by the wood. Sherry with a hint of acidity behind. All the smoothness of the nose seems to have disappeared. Nice complexity however and some warm alcohol hints.
The finish is exceptionally long and marked by sherry and the woody touches of the mouth. This whisky deserves certainly a new tasting after a few days of aeration, as my notes seem to differ quite a lot with the enthusiastic reactions to other drinkers.
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Breath of Speyside
cask 5642

Age
 15 years
Alcohol
 60.2°
Cask
 Sherry
Bottler
 Adelphi
=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros< 25 euros
Glenfarclas: Breath of Speyside
Sherry is obviously the most important marker for this far to be discrete nose which reveals also some fruity notes, some woody touches and some hints recalling orange peel. A greater complexity seems to appear a few minutes after having opened the bottle. Ripe fruits, plum developing slowly to more chocolate-like hints.
In the palate, thins whisky is first rather dry, but remains pleasant, nicely complex, with lots of character and the high percentage of alcohol does not hinder the tasting at all, even if the alcohol presence is obvious. Woody notes share the attention with others, clearly smoother.
The finish leaves some bitterness in the palate. It is particularly long. Even if this whisky is really excellent, I must confess I was expecting some more pleasure, after having read many enthusiast comments about this bottle.

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Glenfarclas
1965-2005
Natural Cask Strength

Age
 40 years
Alcohol
 48.5°
Bottler
 Scott's collection
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Glenfarclas Scotts selection 1965
The first nose is quite strange. A mix of wood and wax. Relatively discrete but really promising. Discrete hints of wood. The palate is much more expressive with still this impression of a very fine wood and a great complexity where hints of liquorice, floral notes and hints of sherry are mixed together with nice spiced notes. The finish is magnificent, long and nicely woody with discrete hints of sherry. It is warm and very smooth.
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Glenfarclas
Lancer's flag

Age
 41 years
Alcohol
 46.1°
Bottler
 Daily Dram
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Glenfarclas Lancers Flag
A very pleasant nose exceptionally fresh (specially for a whisky of that age), made from discrete sherry hints nicely mixed with fine but clear woody notes. Some eucalyptus hints. The nose is oddly complex behind first quite linear impressions. In the palate the same complex mix of wood and sherry. The mouth is bewitching and prolongs nicely the nose impressions. The finish is pleasantly warm and lingering, still with this amazing association of fine wood and sherry.
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Glenfarclas samples

Glenfarclas
1968
Age
 no age statement
Alcohol
 43°
Cask
 Sherry
Bottler
 Official
=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros< 25 euros
Glenfarclas 1968
A very pleasant nose, with sherry hints and woody touches, with loads of discrete aromas, form coffee (with milk) to chocolate through spiced touches. In the mouth, a subtle mix of sherry and oak, the whole in a relative smoothness. Not really spectacular. The finish is relatively short, with again nice woody memories of sherry.
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Glenfarclas
Old Speyside 1966-2006
Age
 no age statement
Alcohol
 45.6°
Cask
 Sherry
Bottler
 Taste Still
Glenfarclas Old Speyside
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Glenfarclas
1966-2007
Cask Collection

Age
 41 years
Alcohol
 46.1°
Bottler
 Dewar Rattray
=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros< 25 euros
Despite the very pale colour of this whisky, the nose seems to reveal clear sherry hints. And it is a bourbon cask... which explains the colour, but not the smell.The nose is simply fantastic. Mix of sherry and nice fresh floral notes. A real bunch of flowers beside a sherry bottle. Exotic fruit, pineapple, honey and some cut grass. A very rich nose anyway and changing all the time.
In the mouth, the first impression is some woody hints followed by a deep malty smoothness and very nice peppery and spicy notes. After a while (fortunately rather long), all tastes seem to dim suddenly before leaving quite a neutral palate.
But the finish is very long and extremely pleasant with ist sherry notes closely mixed together.
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Glenfarclas: Not in collection

Glenfarclas
8 Years old

Age
 8 years
Alcohol
 40°
Bottler
 Official
Glenfarclas 8 yo

Comment by Thomas Widter

This is the first Glenfarclas I have had a chance to get to know, so I can only guess that it must hold up with its older brothers quite nicely. Of course, the whisky is not quite as smooth as an older one would be – still, that specific sherryish character has to be what is the Glenfarclas trademark. It is a very full, round, sunny tone with not little caramel to it; the “sunny” side to it is almost too much for some afternoons. If it had to illustrated with sound (the writer of this note is also an sound engineer) the higher frequencies would be just slightly dominant, but never to let one forget about the overall wholesome character. The nuttiness a Macallen would have is not where this whisky shines, nor does it have the at first hidden intensity of a 12 year Glendronach. But oh is it still a tremendous example of what Speyside’s finest distilleries are capable of achieving.
(taking into consideration the pretty good price-ratio)

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Speyside

Speyside Map

The Speyside area is situated at the North of the Cairngorm mountain and goes to the Moray firth. It is delimited by two rivers: the Findhorn at the West side and the Deveron on the East side.
The area is named after the river Spey. Most of the distilleries take their water in one of its affluents; the Fiddich, the Livet or the Avon.
About sixty distilleries from Speyside are described on this site.

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