Glenfarclas 15 Year Old

First Vapor: Rubber and cashew and toffee, becoming...

Nose: Wonderful and sweet. Nougat and vanilla wrapped in milk chocolate laced with orange zest. Develops depth from dates and salty caramel, which is tangy with orange peel towards the end of the breath.

Palate: Sour cherry enters sweet with vanilla; cinnamon progresses to gingery; and finishes with sweet orange and serious, deep walnut (combination of its skins and its toasted flesh).

Finish: There remains an orange sharpness on the tongue. Meanwhile, the walnuts from the palate are like buttery vanilla, augmented by raisin and with a tingle of ginger.

This reminds me most of the Glengoyne 21: Both are superb sherry-matured malts, deep and complex. The Glengoyne leaned towards spice (much more the "Christmas spice" that others refer to), while this Glenfarclas leans more towards fruit and toffee while avoiding most traces of bitterness. The Aberlour 18 is also sweet and delightful, but lacks some of the deeper flavors in the palate.

I am once again impressed with the maturity of Glenfarclas malts. So far, my sense is that one could add 5 years to their age statements arrive at a more accurate indicator.

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