Dram data:
Distillery: Glenfarclas
Bottler: Official bottling
Distilled: –
Bottled: 17.03.2009 (lot-nr 314:30BB)
Age: 25 years
Limitation: unknown
Price at the time of purchasing: 85€
Casks: Ex-Sherry
Alcohol: 43%
Most likely chill filtered & natural color
Whiskybase link
(Blind) Tasting notes:
Colour: Amber
Nose: Fresh and fruity. Wild berries, lemon and orange zest, orange juice, canned tangerines, peaches, honey, slight background maltiness. Initially I thought of a slight peatiness but after nosing for a wee while this is most likely just the spicy cask influence.
Palate: Quite fresh and spicy green, dry, tannins, ginger candy, dark chocolate, coffee beans
Finish: Initially mouth-filling and very sweet, drying down to lingering malt and oak notes.
Verdict:
Summer fruit cake on the nose mixed with a hefty, spicy, kicking palate with a very mature, oaky finish – wow, what a multi-faceted dram. From fruity to oaky in a matter of minutes.
I tasted this blind and had it pegged as a Speysider from a European oak cask but was quite surprised when I learned to know it was the Glenfarclas 25, I remembered Glenfarclas being sweeter on the palate. Oh well – the joy of blind tastings 😉 I like this very much but you do have to like the strong oak influence (I do…).