Quarter casks are small casks originally used to transport whisky on horseback. Nowadays it’s mostly associated with the Laphroaig expression. As these casks are smaller (around 125 litres), the whisky matures more quickly.

Glenfarclas also had a couple of quarter cask experiments. This one mixes two casks filled on 03/07/1987 and two casks filled on 11/09/1987. Note that they’re not QC finishes (like Laphroaig) but full term maturations.

Glenfarclas 18 yo 1987 (46%, OB 2006, Quarter cask #3704 + 3707 + 3859 + 3860, 1299 btl.)

Nose: a dry nose, with hints of breadcrust standing out. Slightly more sour and oaky than your regular Glenfarclas. Tobacco and leather chairs. A bit of library dust. Mouth: quite dry, with some oaky hints and a distinct smokiness. Then some prunes, oranges and cocoa. Roasted coffee beans and toffee. Finish: long, drying and toasted.

Interesting smoky / roasted notes in this Glenfarclas Quarter Cask. Not the classic sherry style but a nicely different variation with more oak.

Comment on @WhiskyNotes's review

I like the Glenfarclas distillery, they do ONLY what they do well.Sherry maturation. From the 105 to the 12,15,15,21,30 to the amazing 40 year old which I’ve tried every single dram was great. At Glenfarclas they do not play with wood finishes, tricks or gimmicks, No sir. They keep on producing excellent sherry matured whiskey. year after year. This one is no different, well made, and fitting for the Glenfarclas name. What’s unique in this expression is the maturation in smaller “Quarter Casks”. Maturation in smaller casks means more surface to whisky ratio, faster maturation, and more flavours penetration from the wood to the spirit. The whisky was distilled in 1987 and bottled in 2006 ,

Glenfarclas quarter casks, 1987, 46% ABV

Nose: Lovely nose. sweet, Big prune, leather, wee wee smoke there.

Palate : Thick sweet flavours, the expected dried fruit, cocoa, dark chocolate, a lot of prunes, and wood.

Finish : Long, drying and woody at the end. licking the walls of a wooden box that held previously dried prunes. that's it in one sentence.

Bottom line:

This is a very good dram, the wood is quite strong, and the dried prunes reign. I do prefer the classic bottling of 15/17 to this youngster, however, it’s a thouroghly enjoyable dram, very suitable for winter (Istaeli winter, for sure).

@WhiskyNotes commented:

No no, it has been matured fully in QC. It was an experiment that turned out great. I've seen successful new oak maturation for 20 years as well, something that wouldn't work unless you pick some inactive wood. I guess with the QC it's the same.

Gal, you should try (old) bourbon matured Glenfarclas! They're really good at that as well.

@AboutChoice commented:

According to their website, depending on the vintage, the usual ongoing Glenfarclas expressions are matured in about 1/3 used bourbon or scotch hogsheads, and 2/3 used sherry butts. The casks are blended together at bottling time. I particularly like to seek out 100% sherry maturation in whisky, and though Glenfarclas is not one of those, my 12-year indeed has a substantial sherry character, and is a lovely whisky. Alas, there was no mention of the Quarter Cask edition on the website.

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Glenfarclas Quarter Cask 1987

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Reviewed by @galg

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