Some time ago, I captured my tasting notes on a new release Glenfarclas 12 year old whisky. It was one of the exceptional whiskies that I got to taste on our trip to Wild About Whisky in Dullstroom. I rated this Glenfarclas whisky as ‘Excellent‘ and was happy to add this distillery to my whisky collection.
I heard about a collector selling a few bottles of older Glenfarclas releases. Soon afterwards, a box with five bottles of Glenfarclas arrived. The Glenfarclas 12 years old single malt Scotch whisky is the first that I try from this collection.
Situated in Banffshire, just a short distance from the River Spey, it is a Speyside distillery. Glenfarclas is from the Gaelic, meaning “Glen of the green grassland”. The Glenfarclas distillery obtains its water from pure springs on the rough Ben Rinnes mountain range.
Established in 1865, the distillery is still family-owned. Glenfarclas produces several expressions in the traditional Speyside style, with a heavy Sherry influence. It is one of the few Scottish distilleries never to use exotic woods for maturation.
It is difficult to date this bottle of Glenfarclas whisky. There was another 12 year old in a more traditional blue tin in the box, similar to my newer release 12yo. Looking at the printing and the beige colours, I guess that this older Glenfarclas whisky was released late 1980’s somewhere.
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Glenfarclas 12 year old Whisky Review
REGION: Speyside
ABV: 43%.
COLOUR: The colour can be defined as golden copper. It appears quite dark in the bottle but lighter in the glass. It is not a very oily whisky.
NOSE: Brings plum fruits, raisins and sherry. There are hints of sultanas and sweet grapes mixed with some oak.
PALATE: A well-balanced mix of sweet and spicy notes. Notes of oak, sherry and fresh fruits and traces of caramel and toffee follow. This Glenfarclas older bottling is a full-bodied whisky but not very complex. It is wonderfully smooth and warming. It alternates between the sweetness and the spiciness on the palate.
FINISH: Not that long, but it kind of comes back at the end and lingers. The finish ends with spice and oak notes. There are hints of ginger and pepper in the end.
RATING: EXCELLENT
It is an easy-drinking whisky, and we quickly had a second glass. I have three different Glenfarclss 12 releases from this distillery and would love to see how they compare against each other. Also, to compare the consistency in colour and tasting notes of the different bottlings. But that is for another day. Now to sip some more of this delicious dram.
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