Glenfarclas recommendation?

I've only had the 10 yr old, but I personally thought it was brilliant! Really makes me want to go out and get some of their older expressions. I'm sure some of the other guys will be along soon with their recommendations, but I honestly don't think you'll be upset with ANY of their expressions. It's one of the distilleries I'm REALLY looking forward to visiting when my wife and I are over next May :D

After having a peek at your "favorites" list I'd suggest Glenfarclas 105. At 60% Id have expected a big burn, but it's not there. Easy to drink and packed with flavor.

Depends on the money. I genuinly haven't had an under par, or over priced for that matter, Glenfarclas. The 105 is brilliant and the 15 is one of the best of any of the core ranges I think. I doubt you'll be disappointed but I'd say get the 12, it'll be a bit cheaper but it's very good and it does demonstrate what the distillery does very well.

Thanks much to all. Your suggestions, plus the reviews I've read, suggest that the 12 yo will suit my purposes for now -- although I plan on visiting the 105 sometime down the road. (Plus, it's about 30 bucks cheaper than the 17 yo, which seems to be the neglected child of the Glenfarclas range.) Couldn't resist springing for a bottle of the 12 yo today. It's been moved to my cabinet with a score forthcoming later tonight.

Anyone else have trouble with Glenfarclas corks? I opened my bottle of 12 yo about 20 minutes ago, and the cork crumbled to bits in my hand after I broke the seal. I didn't even tug on it. I called the store to see if I could get an exchange, but was told that this was a typical Glenfarclas problem and another bottle would likely have the same problem. (They didn't seem to be big sellers at my local store. Both bottles on the shelf had dust on them, so the clerk's comment seemed reasonable.) I dug the rest of the crumbly cork out with a corkscrew (with just a few teeny bits falling in the bottle), then replaced it with a rubber vacuum cork. Hope this doesn't affect the flavor in the long run.

As for the whisky itself, I am very impressed so far. Sweet and easily drinkable, but very rich and muiti-layered. The finish is very light on the throat, but lasts long and has much to reveal in the process. One dram, and I can already tell this will be a favorite.

@WhiskyBee...I only have experience with one bottle of the 15 yo (no problems with the cork there) so others can comment on if it is a distillery issue. If not, might the problem be tied to how the bottle is/was stored at the store (i.e. were the bottles on their sides?)? Just an alternate theory...not trying to cast aspersions on a particular retailer.

@Pudge72, first of all, anyone who's a Pudge fan is okay in my book. Of course, being from Chicago (where I lived for 35 years before moving to Indiana), I followed him more when he changed the color of his Sox. ;)

No, the "whisky guy" at the local store is pretty knowledgeable and would know better than to store bottles on the side. I'm no expert on this, but a quick search tells me that it's an older bottle (tall and narrow, label with big red "12" and picture of distillery at top), so maybe it's been sitting on the shelf long enough for the cork to dry out. Still tastes great, however!

My wife's favorite whisky is the Glenfarclas 17. While it's not my favorite, it is a quality dram and very drinkable. I've only had the 105 once. I purchased a 20CL bottle of it at the distillery a couple years ago. While it was good, for a sherry "bomb", I prefer Macallan Cask Strength and Aberlour A'bunadh. Personally, between the Glenfarclas 17 and the 105, I would go with the 17 year old. Hope that helps.

@bwmccoy, I like the 12 yo so much, I'm sure I'll purchase both the 17 and the 105 somewhere down the road. For now, my whisky budget has been depleted for at least a couple of months, or so says my wife. She likes the 12 yo as well, so maybe she won't put up too much of a fuss if I want to replenish our Glenfarclas supply. ;)

Pretty sure your right about it being an older bottle. Ive had quite a few on the range and never had any trouble. In fact never had that happen to any bottle ive bought come to think of it. Glad you enjoyed it too!v @WhiskyBee

From what I've Experienced from Glenfarclas is that the bottles younger then 15yo are lighter Sherryed expressions where over are heavily sherryed, the 15yo is the most highly praised because it hits the perfect sweet spot in the range between quality and price, ie, while the older bottles may be a bit nicer but are much more expensive. Between the 12yo and the 17yo if your new to sherry whisky I'd recommend the 12 yo, if you've had and enjoyed your sherryed whisky give the 17yo a go. When it comes to the Glenfarclas 105 it's more of the heavily Sherryed style and it is bottled at a great 60%alc, personally I love it but if you've never had cask strength whiskys before you might want to approach that bottle with respect. On a side note if you try some Glenfarclas bottles and find you like the style give the distiller Glendronach a go, also makes heavily Sherryed whisky's and is a personal favourite of mine.

@WhiskyBee: I like the 15yo. Continuity of style, quality of cask, balance, flavor are all superb; however, if you can't get it in your 'neck of the woods', an equally fine G/F is the 105. You need to add a little more water and that can be a challenge (or part of the mystique) - Yes these are sherried Whiskies but there is no better place to learn how good a sherried drop can be!

Along with Macallan, Glenfarclas spare no expense in gathering the finest Sherry casks available and it shows in their product. Some of the finest Whiskies I've ever tasted have been finished in quality Sherry casks and a couple of 'stand out' 12yo. Macallans in best single Sherry casks for all their maturation were Whiskies of unparalled excellence.

Good Luck!

@Jason0142 and @A'bunadhman -- thanks for your analyses. I'm wondering if a little DIY blending -- half a dram each of the 12 and the 17 -- would give me something close to the 15 yo. Arrrgh -- why can't we get it in the States? Why would a distillery not release their best-liked expression in one of the largest markets? I can only guess that the expanded demand might not meet their supply, or perhaps they're trying to keep it "special."

I have both the GlenDronach 12 and 15 yo's, and I like both of them very much, so I do have a taste for sherried whiskies. I had my problems with Aberlour a'bunadh (see my review), although I've been appreciating it more in my last two tastes. My problem might be a bad batch: #40, which, according to a couple of online reviews I read last night, is the "worst batch ever." In the future, if my budget and experimental nature allow for it, I might look out for a more highly regarded batch and try again.

I thought it was batch 41 of the Abunadh that was sulphered beyond all recognition, not 40?

Either way, I think you'll like the 17 as well, though the 105 is similar to abunadh. Sounds like a great excuse to do some head to head tasting! I pour off a few oz to save for those occasions if I can't afford to have all the bottles open at once.

Ouhhhh, feeling lucky to have the batch 34 and 37 which they are great.......so about glenfarclas,my advice is relatively simple,all the glenfarclas,especially the 15 are great(my favorite),try what you can find there and tell us what you think of it!!!