Glenfarclas 17 Year Old

Nose: High quality sherry, oak, mint, toffee

Palate: Acceleration of sherry the swells to a crescendo, caramel, plums, dates, raisins, hazelnuts, lemon peel, toffee, white cake, marzipan.

Finish: Oak again, hazelnuts, caramel, sherry.

I know my description above sounds perhaps overly sweet tasting to some readers, but I should say that it maintains a wonderfully dry composition that avoids sickly sweet and merely seasons the tongue with hints without being too much.

In fact, I find it to be restrained at first, and then swelling on the mouthfeel to release its full flavor spectrum. This kind of delayed release is something I greatly value when it comes to the palette. No, it's not a "sherry bomb" so to speak, but it is smooth and delightful.

I rank this one above the Aberlour 18, which can be a tad "bourbony" when compared with the sophisticated presence of the Glenfarclas 17. Yes, bourbon flavors are great and all, but not in a glass of expensive single malt scotch, at least not to me.

We Yanks don’t have access to the highly praised Glenfarclas 15 year old, so we have to content ourselves with its younger and older siblings. The 12 and 17 yo’s are closest in age, and I find myself going back and forth as to which I prefer. The 12 is rich and malty, albeit a bit one-dimensional, whereas the 17 is more layered and balanced, but with a few off notes along the way. Nevertheless, I’d gladly accept a dram of either.

Nose: As much sherry as any ’farclas I’ve tried, but mixed with a little too much dusty wood for my liking. The sherry-and-malt marriage in the 12 yo is more pleasing on my proboscis. But the 17 has plenty of delights to compensate for any deficiencies: butterscotch, almonds, raisins, vanilla, and some earthy, herbal notes at the bottom of it all. It’s a big, bold nose with one unfortunate element that’s as pronounced as anything else. Still quite sniff-worthy nonetheless.

Palate: A gutsy arrival full of sherry, spices, and dried fruits. There’s also more malt than the nose led me to expect, and there’s even a hint of peat smoke lurking in the shadows. The development is a bit disappointing, in that the rich sweetness soon turns dry and flat, while the dusty elements from the nose re-appear. There’s good things going on, but it’s not a whisky that benefits from long tongue time. Best to appreciate the positives quickly, swallow, and get on to the finish.

The finish, in fact, is the near-flawless part of the experience. It’s long, warming, and with a fair amount of peppery spice. All the sweetness has virtually disappeared, but the spices and smoke that replace it are richly satisfying and devoid of bitterness.

Despite misgivings, the sweet-to-dry evolution of Glenfarclas 17 is both unique and rewarding. Overall, the quality of this dram reduces my gripes to mere nit-picks.

I had the privilege of enjoying a vertical tasting of a range of Glenfarclas (10, 15, 21, 25, 30, 40 and 105), put on by George Grant himself, at the Mash Tun in Aberlour at the Speyside Whisky Festival last May. It was an amazing tasting, and I especially enjoyed the 15 and 40 years old - truly unforgettable drams. This particular expression, the 17 year old, is much harder to find.

Glenfarclas is the oldest family distillery in Scotland, having belonged to the Grants since 1865. It is not a small distillery - a modern mill, six stills and 10 dunnage warehouses - but it has steadfastly remained in the family and cultivated a hand-made, boutique-style commitment to quality and control. They are also the first malt distillery to offer a cask-strength expression - the 105 (60% ABV) back in 1968. This bottle of 17 Year Old has been open for about a month - and upon opening, the cork broke so there are bits of it in there! Make of that what you will.

The colour is a dark brownish gold. On the nose, rum-raisin, butterscotch, burnt-out campfire, with a sprinkling of cinnamon. Quite sherried, though not overtly so. Fresh, clean and invigorating. Water brings out more herbs and dark fruits.

On the palate: light toffee, dark fruits, some pepper and other savoury spices. Slight hint of peat - a tiny bit vegetal. Water makes it creamier and softer - but otherwise dulls the palate a little. Beautifully sherried.

The finish is long, warming, with berry fruits and a hint of smoke and ash. I like this more than when we first opened the bottle about a month ago - so perhaps the oxidation has helped - it feels like it's a bit softer and mellower, whereas a month ago I felt it was too tight and bitter. I still prefer the 15, but one has much to recommend it.

Not nearly as sherry-licious as the progression implied. Slightly lighter than the 15 in colour and in the sherry nose.

Return of the heat provided in the 12 year old at first taste. Very salty and oceanic with a light smokey finish.

Paired with my scotchlate chip cookies made with Glenfarclas 105.

Perhaps I'm not a Speysider when it comes to the living water, at least not as much as I'd once thought.

I have tried some of the top shelf Aberlours and liked them quite a lot, especially the 18 and the A'bunadh.

This said, I guess I have been harboring a grudge against low end Glenfiddich and Glenlivet from my younger years that still haunts.

Tonight, before dinner at the pub, a glass of Glenfarclas 17 evoked bad memories at first whiff. In time, the better elementals respired in the glass, coming to life.

Still, all in all, I was not overly impressed. The palate could not shake a cloying perfume-y scent that that reminded me distantly of, well, Cutty Sark? Ugh.

Rewind to last night after work when I stopped by 10th Avenue Liquor in Portland on my way home, and was steered wrong by a clerk there who suggested that I tuck in a bottle of The MacTarnahan (alleged 9 year-old Glenfarclas) along with a pleasing pair: Tobermory 15 and a Glendronach 15 Revival--both the last bottles in the store, and which I intended to buy before even entering the premises.

Alas, the MacTarnahan turned out to be odious at best, only fit for mixed drinks, as far as I'm concerned after opening it and pouring a sip when I got home. I'm sure future guests will like it well enough with mixers.

Fast forward to the Glenfarclas 17 tonight: A little time in the class cured the bad memories of cheap Speysides from my past (along with the morose ghost of Cutty Sark), but the 17 was not what I had hoped it would be, even in the final analysis.

I followed up the Glenfarclas with a dram of Dalmore Cigar Malt, which I like great deal more, even though it was not the most sophisticated glass of whiskey that I've had the pleasure of drinking.

Before leaving the pub, I hovered over a glass of the Bowmore 16 DT. It certainly wasn't the best Bowmore I've tasted. In fact, I had a glass of the 15 (not darkest) a few weeks ago at Kells Irish Pub. The plain 15 year was delicious and astonishingly good. If memory serves, I much preferred it to the 16 DT tonight. (Perhaps "DT" should stand for Delirium Tremens and not Duncan Taylor. Will a bad pun like that get me kicked off this site? I hope not! A joke, just a joke!!!)

All hail the HIghland Stillhouse for enabling occasional forays into disappointment, as well as the glad eye of good fortune when'er it shines (through the hole in my pocketbook where fresh cabbage used to bloom). The Stillhouse has hundreds of bottles to choose from. A trip there is always an adventure in accidental tourism, and I wouldn't trade even my least favorite glass of the "living water" for anything. Experientia docet.

Nose begins with a sweet apple pie giving way to raisins and spices as the aroma settles in. Presents a complex nose worth the time to enjoy. Palate provides an oily texture immediately presenting you with the warm body where the alcohol is clearly present. The complexity reveals a predominate orange zest followed by oak flavors. The finish softens to a long warm oak with hints of smoke and oat flavors.

Glenfarclas 17 years is not a commonly found expression in the Glenfarclas range. It is bottled in limited quantities and sold primarily in the US and Japan as well as in travel retail. Occasionally you can find it in stores outside these regions as well.

Glenfarclas 17 yo (43%, OB)

Nose: roasted nuts (hazelnuts, almonds) and caramel. A lot of toffee notes. Quite some dates as well. A light hint of eucalyptus and with a heathery / resinous edge. Plenty of fresh herbs like parsley. Beautifully composed. It seems this one is a tad more smokey than other Glenfarclas bottlings as well. Mouth: good attack, again a herbal note up front. Hints of pine needles and resin. Some liquorice. Sherried but malty at the same time. Oak, but not overwhelming. Cloves. Cinnamon sticks. Finish: long, nutty and drying on spices and oak.

One of the more herbal and smokey members of the Glenfarclas range.

Nose: Big sherry, sweeter than the 15 year old. sultanas,raisins, dates and plums. immersing and very round. a bit mossy ground. fungus.

Palate: Honey, dried fruits and spices (nutmeg, cinnamon) some zest and wee peat smoke. Round, oily and mouth coating.lovely. just plain lovely. Bigger bodied & oilier than the 15.

Finish : Long, nutty and sherry-sweet. ending on spice.

Nose: A medium sherry influence with dried fruits, as well as vanilla and oak. Some sweetness mixed in as well. All very well balanced.

Palate: Malty and sweet, and lightly spiced, with noticeable drying on the tongue.

Finish: Balanced on the finish, just as on the nose. It’s probably just the oak/malt combination, but in the nostrils, I could swear there’s a hint of Highland Park style smoke that lingers for a while.

Bottom Line: I’m very impressed with this expression, and purchased a backup bottle when it was on sale locally. This is not a "sherry bomb" by any means. It offers a complex, balanced alternative to other big sherry Glenfarclas offerings.