The family-owned Speyside distillery of Glenfarclas has announced a return to the travel retail sector with a new range of single malts. This is spearheaded by this Glenfarclas 11 Years Old. It is joined by Glenfarclas 16 Years Old and Glenfarclas 35 Years Old. The range is completed by Glenfarclas 105, which also forms part of the domestic core range, but will appear in the travel retail sector in a one-litre size. All four whiskies have been 100% matured in ex-Oloroso sherry casks from Spain.
Glenfarclas was founded in 1836 by John S. Grant on the site of an illegal distillery dating from the late 1790s. It is located close to the village of Ballindalloch in the heart of the Speyside region. Glenfarclas has the largest stills of any distillery in Speyside and has an annual production capacity of 3.5 million litres of whisky per year. The majority of this is released as single malt and has a worldwide fan base. Its main markets are southern Europe, America, the UK and the Far East. Sales in 2022 topped 2.5 million bottles in a year for the first time.
They have some of the oldest maturing stocks in Scotland due to the consistency of family ownership. The distillery remains under the stewardship of the Grant family today. This enables Glenfarclas to regularly releases whiskies of extreme age including the legendary Family Casks series, which has vintages ranging from the early 1950s to early 2010s.
The Glenfarclas 11 Years Old is bottled at 46% ABV and is both non-chill filtered and of natural colour. A bottle costs £50 for one litre. The 16 Years Old is also 46% ABV and will cost £80 for a 70cl bottle. The 35 Years Old is released at 43% ABV and will cost £765 for 70cl. The Glenfarclas 105 is bottled at 60% ABV and will cost £78 for one litre. All are available now in Heathrow, Gatwick and Edinburgh airports in the UK. Other markets will be introduced in time.
Our Tasting Notes
The colour is coppery gold and the nose is sweet, fruity and with a hint of woody spice. Initial aromas of toffee, caramel and raisin evolve to include milk chocolate, sultana and a hint of bitter orange oil. There are also hints of cinnamon stick, hazelnut praline and a developing aroma of baked peach. Further hints of dried fig, freshly baked baklava with a combination of honeyed pistachio and buttery pastry. and something herbal reminiscent of dried bay leaf.
On the palate this whisky is creamy and sweet but with an underlying warming spice. There are plenty of nuts up front – think of that hazelnut praline and honeyed pistachio again, plus some toasted almond. There are also some lovely dried fruit notes. These are most reminiscent of apricot, peach and fig with a hint of chocolate coated raisin. The creamy milk chocolate characteristic is never far away and becomes almost mocha-like towards the end.
Further notes of soft fudge, toffee and dried red apple develop. The second half is where the warming spices evolve – think of gingerbread biscuits, cinnamon bark and cassia with hints of clove and white pepper. A further hint of drying wood tannin adds an extra dimension.
The finish is long and the sweet toffee and dried fruit elements really drag it out nicely. But it is the spice and that hint of oak tannin that last longest. This gives a delightful warmth, which seems to exaggerate the peach/apricot note particularly, and a pleasant dryness in the mouth.
What’s The Verdict?
This is an impressive whisky from Glenfarclas. They are known for their use of ex-sherry casks, ex-Oloroso in particular, but this is not a massive ‘sherry monster’ or ‘sherry bomb’ of a whisky. Instead it is superbly well balanced and multi dimensional. This makes is a nice Autumnal whisky with the warming spices on top of the sweet and fruity characteristics. This 11 Years Old expression offers great value for money, especially given the quality of the liquid and reputation of Glenfarclas. Definitely one to consider picking up when next travelling through an airport. That’s what we did …
