Italian importer and bottler Silver Seal selected a cask of Glenfarclas 1971. It’s part of the Family Cask series, in which sister casks #140, #150 and #152 have been bottled before.

Glenfarclas 40 yo 1971 (52%, OB Family Cask for Silver Seal 2011, cask #148, 473 btl.)

Nose: starts pretty compact with precious wood and dried fruits. Grows wider: Banyuls and Portuguese ginjha. Dates, figs, rum-soaked raisins. Some dry wood smoke and walnuts. Hints of beef stock. Some cardamom. Quite heavy overall, but more complex than most other heavily sherried whiskies. Mouth: rich, with sweet, herbal and softly sour flavours. Cherry pie, prunes, raisins, figs, Christmas cake. Strawberry jam and milk chocolate. Hints of gingerbread and liquorice, but it’s nicely un-oaky. Classic. Finish: long, spicier and drier, but still a lot of dried fruits.

Nicely sweet & sour without showing too much wood or bitterness alongside it. A classic example of Glenfarclas’ heritage. At around € 475, I’d say the standard 40yo is better value though.

Score: 92/100