Keep calm and carry on! Glenfarclas through the ages
Glenfarclas is such a brand that does not seem to care what happens in the whisky world. It remains consistent. Distilleries popping up like mushrooms? Glenfarclas is there. Economic downturn on the horizon? Glenfarclas remains calm. This is a brand you can rely on. Weary of new techniques, Glenfarclas is one of the few that direct fires their stills (in this case, the wash stills). There was experimentation with indirect heating, but that was not satisfactory for the owners, which is of course the family J. & G. Grant. Keep calm and carry on! Today, we are going to taste a few older vintages, after a more recent warm-up dram. Enjoy! (And to clarify: these samples were tasted in three different sessions, only the last two head-to-head.)
Glenfarclas 2008 – Wild Fox, bottled at 57,6 % abv
First things first: Glenfarclas distilled in 2008 and bottled on 19 October 2023, so a 15 years old. Only 52 bottles from a sherry cask for ‘some Dutch friends’. Hey, I am Dutch, I am friendly, where is my bottle?
Upon Sipping: Glenfarclas + sherry + decent age = hard to beat! Incredibly classic and rich sherry nose on this single cask. Hints of sharp cherries and furniture polish. San Marzano tomatoes. Light caramel, fudge, but less to the forefront. On the palate, this is a chocolate sweet single malt, where the red fruits are suspiciously missing, but is compensated by beautiful dark wood notes on the finish. A tad hot on the exit, so we will see what we can draw out with a drop of water. On the nose, more cigar leaves now and I am picking up apricot. Some hints of glue even, as if the wood was very active to put a imprint on the whisky. Water does bring out a hint of gunpowder. This continues on the palate, that changes to copper coins and herbal tea. The finish is a bit more tame indeed, but did not improve. So, very careful with water.
Word to the Wise: Classic Glenfarclas that showcases the cask for maturation excellently. Still, you can feel the whisky backbone is strong, and this creates a very pleasant interaction. If you can find one of the few bottles released, you are a lucky person!
Score: 86 points.
Glenfarclas 1979, 37 years old, bottled at 46,9 % abv
First things first: Matured in a plain oak cask, this Glenfarclas special release matured for no less than 37 years in cask # 8818. Only 188 bottles remained when bottled on 26 July 2016. On the back label, bottler Eiling Lim defends in feministic way the quality of a female nose selecting this cask. Her husband being Luc Timmermans, a well-known Glenfarclas collector.
Upon Sipping: An explosion of fruit on the nose, and in nothing recognizable as Glenfarclas, who’s character we usually associate with heavy (sherry) cask influences. This has a lot of summer fruit in it, and comes off as very bright and happy. Mango, passion fruit, oranges, apricot, honey waxes and hints of varnish. Totally in balance, rounded, not a single off-note to be found. In short: brilliant. Maybe the apricot is the common demeanour for Glenfarclas when no sherry is involved.
After such a frivolous nosing experience, the palate has difficulty to keep it up totally, but that is purely because of the wood impact after almost four decades in the cask. It makes for some overly eager bitter notes, but still you can find a syrupy, sticky taste full of honey and waxes. After adding just a little water, the bitterness makes way for fruity notes, especially the apricot again, and other tropical fruits that have a bitter aftertaste. Maybe some grapefruit in the end. With water however, we are back to our first conclusion: this was a very good pick from the Glenfarclas stock.
Word to the Wise: A very challenging Glenfarclas, and I mean this in the best way. This is one you can sit down with and enjoy without thinking. But if you want to study it and dissect it, this is also a single malt whisky that reveals rewarding treats.
Score: 92 points.
Glenfarclas 8 years old, bottled at 60 % abv
First things first: All Malt Unblended Scotch Whisky bottled at 105 proof, an ancestor or contemporary to the very popular Glenfarclas 105, that was the first commercial cask strength to hit the market. Closed with a white screw cap, this was bottled in the 1970s and maybe even distilled at the same time as our next sample (1966). Bonded & Bottled by Grant Bonding Co. Ltd.
Upon Sipping: This one head to head with the 1966 below. Dark brown gold in colour, and quite a meaty flavour straight away, mixed with what I can only imagine umami to smell like. All very savoury and rich, with lots of Oriental spices and yes, also a metallic hint. It has lots in common with the 1966 vintage below, but this expression has some sherry casks making a difference. Taking a sip from this Glenfarclas, you will notice soon enough that the nose was modest. The palate is attacked by a fierce single malt powerhouse, that has lost nothing of its potency over the years in the glass. The high abv kept this Glenfarclas well alive! Umami indeed, with tomatoes, broth, metallic hints, copper coins, very dark Ceylon tea. All I need is a cigar and I am set.
Word to the Wise: Fierce whisky, and one could wonder who on earth was buying this Glenfarclas back in the day. It is not commercial by today’s standards, and it cannot have been in the 1970s. This must have been a hidden gem in high up circles, or maybe down in dark alley booths.
Score: 88 points.
Glenfarclas 1966, bottled at 45,7 % abv by Cadenhead’s
First things first: Not much information here, other than this Glenfarclas was distilled in May 1966 and bottled in October 1977. A famous expression in the Cadenhead Dumpy series, named so because of the bottle shape of course. The address of Cadenhead on this bottle is still Aberdeen, the original home of this bottler before being moved to Campbeltown.
Upon Sipping: This one head to head with the 8 years old above. Straw yellow in colour, suggesting maybe no sherry cask was hurt in the making of this bottling. The nose has a metallic touch to it, but this can also be from bottle ageing. In any case, this Glenfarclas is more like the Eiling Lim and comes with a brighter note. Under the fruitier notes of Mirabelle and lemon zest there is a meaty aroma. At this low strength, it is of course extremely quaffable. Tropical fruit on the tongue, with slight hints of copper coins, which again I think comes from ages and ages in the bottle. Not unlike some pure Benrinnes we have come across, that is a next door neighbour to Glenfarclas. In short, very much a classic Speyside, but not a classic Glenfarclas. Despite having a lower abv than the 8 years old, this is by no means a weak whisky. With water, we extract some more gummi bear sweets from the nose, but the palate has a hard time keeping head above water. The metallic element now turns into an off-note. Still, lingering on the finish are pleasant orchard fruits.
Word to the Wise: A fantastically clean Glenfarclas, that sadly suffered from the time capsule years on its way to 2025. Still, mighty impressive!
Score: 87 points.