Glenfarclas 17 year old Whisky

My first introduction to Glenfarclas was in 2013 in Dullstroom at Wild about Whisky. Since then, my collection has extended slightly and includes various 12 year old releases and a 21 year old and a 25 year old whisky. But today, I am very excited to try the Glenfarclas 17 year old single malt whisky.

From the research that I have done,  this release is the favourite Glenfarclas of many whisky bloggers. The Glenfarclas Distillery is located in the heart of Speyside.

The distillery sits in the moors of Banffshire, just a mile from the River Spey. The Grant Family purchased the distillery in 1865, and it has remained under the control of the Grant Family for six generations.

Glenfarclas is one of only a few distilleries remaining in Scotland, which is independently family owned and managed.  Glenfarclas, translated from the Gaelic as “Glen of the green grassland”, nestles at the foot of the Ben Rinnes mountain. The distillery is renowned for being a full-bodied whisky with lots of sherry cask influence.

I have written about the new Glenfarclas 12 year old release. The Glenfarclas 17 year old release is an unseated whisky aged in ex-Sherry casks.  It was bottled in limited quantities, mainly for the North American, Japanese and travel retail markets.

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Glenfarclas 17 year old Whisky Review

REGION: Speyside

ABV: 43 %

COLOUR: A golden copper colour. It is a very oily whisky with languid fingers in the glass.

NOSE: Sweet sherry, rich brandy-soaked fruit cake and Christmas pudding. There are notes of butterscotch, vanilla and glazed cherries. Hints of oak and cereals drift past. Water seems to dampen the nose a bit but releases a few floral notes.

PALATE: Without water, the Glenfarclas 17 year old has a creamy smooth palate with mild spice and notes of oak and cereals. Adding water makes the spice and oak more pronounced and allow more floral notes to come through. Rich and smooth.

FINISH: This is where the Glenfarclas 17 year old falls down a bit. The finish is medium length and end in notes of tobacco and bitter orange intertwined with some sweet sherry notes.

RATING: EXCELLENT

I expected this oily whisky to have a longer finish.  My biggest issue with this great whisky is that the finish is too short. I wanted it to go on a lot longer. Nevertheless, I had a second glass. I can’t wait to taste more from this family distillery.

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