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Glenfarclas 48 years

fruity fresh
€8,529Scotland, Speyside, Single Malt

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Whisky character

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Spicy

Taste mentions

Facts

John Grant bought Glenfarclas in 1865, and his family still owns it. That kind of patience is what a 48 year old whisky needs. This one spent nearly five decades in a single sherry hogshead, resting in cool dunnage warehouses on Speyside. Very little escaped through the wood, which is why there is still whisky left to bottle. Strength has settled at 41.7% without any help. The taste runs to dark sugar, dried fruit and old oak, with an earthy note underneath. It is a slow, serious dram.

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About the distillery

Distillery

Glenfarclas

Glenfarclas distillery is a single malt Scotch whisky distillery located in the Speyside region of Scotland. The distillery was founded in 1836 and is one of the few independent family-owned distilleries in Scotland, with the Grant family owning and operating the distillery for six generations. The distillery is situated in the heart of Speyside, near the town of Ballindalloch, and draws its water from the nearby springs of the Ben Rinnes mountain. Glenfarclas produces a range of whiskies, including both unpeated and peated expressions, which are aged in a combination of oak casks, including ex-bourbon, sherry, and port casks.

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122Whiskies on Distilld

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Speyside

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About the Glenfarclas 48 years

Glenfarclas 48 years is a single malt Scotch whisky from Speyside, matured in a single sherry hogshead. It comes from the Glenfarclas distillery at the foot of Ben Rinnes. The bottling is part of The Family Casks, a series of single cask releases. Forty-eight years in oak have pulled the strength down to 41.7%. The cask was left alone for decades. What is left is dense, sweet and deeply woody. John Grant bought the distillery in 1865, and his descendants still own it. Six generations on, the stills are still heated by direct gas flame. Steam heating was tried in 1981 and quickly dropped, because the spirit came out thinner. That old method builds a heavier, oilier character into the whisky. Casks come from the Jerez cooper Miguel Martin, filled with oloroso before they reach Speyside. Whisky this old needs both of those things. Sherry and brown sugar arrive first, with dried fruit soaked in syrup. Something earthy and vegetative sits underneath, like damp forest floor. Sweetness leads the palate, then the oak takes over. Spice builds slowly, dry and warm rather than sharp. An oily texture holds everything together despite the age. Smoky notes close it out, with a trace of ash and old wood. Nothing about it tastes tired or thin. Glenfarclas 48 years stands apart from the rest of the range for one reason. Most Glenfarclas bottlings marry many casks to hit a house style. This one came from a single hogshead, so it cannot be repeated. The Family Casks series exists to show those individual casks, vintage by vintage. Nearly five decades in oak gave the wood the last word. That trade is the whole appeal.