Glenfarclas 175th Anniversary

Announced a couple of weeks ago, Glenfarclas 175th Anniversary is now being distributed across Europe and Asia and even sold out in many places.

It is composed of 18 casks from six decades and even the oldest cask in the distillery warehouse was added (cask #1711 filled in 1952).

Glenfarclas 175th Anniversary (43%, OB 2011, 6000 btl.)

Nose: a fairly gentle nose with different layers. Sweet barley sugar and young fruity notes to start with (coconut, berries). Some heather and vanilla biscuits. ‘Older’ sherry as well (dried apricot, dark chocolate) and a layer of subtle oak (old roses, light spices). Dusty books and gravel. Very complex and well integrated.

Mouth: not the biggest impact. Rather spicy (cinnamon, pepper). Hardly any young notes now. There’s a fruity side to it - orange liqueur and Seville oranges rather than the usual sherried dried fruits. Then growing more herbal with heather, old oak and leather. The herbal / bittersweet profile was not really expected.

Finish: medium length, with some mint, apples and a cocoa note.

It’s great to see so many ‘old notes’ in a bottling that’s accessible thanks to the addition of younger malts. Adding the oldest cask was not a marketing trick, you really get a sense of old Glenfarclas here.

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