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Glenfarclas 8 years

malty
3.5
(1)€48Scotland, Speyside, Single Malt

Flavours

Whisky character

Fresh
Warm
Mild
Full
Smooth
Spicy

Taste mentions

Facts

Copper stills at Ballindalloch sit over open gas flames, heated directly rather than by steam. Only a few Scottish distilleries still work this way. The Grant family has kept the practice going since 1836. Direct firing gives the spirit a heavier, meatier backbone. At eight years that backbone is still exposed. Sherry wood has laid down cinnamon and dried fruit, but the young spirit pushes back with a savoury, cereal edge. It is loud, warm and a little rough around the shoulders. Pour it neat and it tells you exactly what this distillery makes.

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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.

4.1Average rating

122Whiskies on Distilld

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Speyside

Most popular whiskies from Glenfarclas

About the Glenfarclas 8 years

Glenfarclas 8 years is a single malt Scotch whisky from Ballindalloch, in the heart of Speyside. It carries eight years in cask and lands at a hefty 60% ABV. That strength is the first thing you notice. This is not a gentle introduction to the region. Speyside malts often lean light and floral. This one arrives with weight, heat and a thick coat of sherry-cask sweetness. The distillery was founded in 1836 and the Grant family has run it ever since. Very few Scottish distilleries are still independently family-owned. Fewer still fire their stills the way Glenfarclas does. Gas flames heat the copper directly from below, rather than steam coils inside. Only a handful of Scottish distilleries work this way. Direct firing pushes heavier, meatier compounds into the spirit. The nose leads with spice and warm cinnamon, backed by dried fruit from the sherry wood. Give it a moment and raisin sweetness comes through. The palate turns thick and malty, with a savoury cereal note underneath the fruit. At 60% the heat is real and it does not hide. The finish is long, dry and faintly medicinal, with that cereal grip hanging on after the sweetness fades. Most of the core range starts at twelve years and climbs from there. Glenfarclas 8 years sits below all of it, and at far higher strength. You get the distillery character young and at full strength, before decades of oak smooth the edges. The spirit is still a little raw here, and that is the point. Note that the whisky carries added colouring, a common practice for keeping bottles consistent.