A limited, 40 years old version of the 105 is currently available as well. It scores 96 points in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible and was chosen the single malt of the year in the 40+ category. Unfortunately the retail price is £ 550 so we’ll have to do with the regular 105.

Glenfarclas 105 (60%, OB)

This looks like liquid bronze if you see the colour. Nose: intense oloroso sherry with some toffee flavours. Red fruits, apples and grapes. After warming up, it gets ‘darker’ and meatier. Mouth: the sherry again, honey and dark sugar. Raisins. Lots of spicy stuff as well (chili, ginger). There’s liquorice, pear and milk chocolate in the finish. Becomes oakier and much drier.

This whisky has some really intense flavours. Together with the alcohol volume, I’m sure it won’t be appreciated by everyone. For me though, this is a very satisfying and balanced. It’s one of the bottes that I take from the shelf most often.

Around € 45 for a 1 litre bottle. Score: 85/100.

Glenfarclas 17 yo (43%, OB)

Nose: roasted nuts (hazelnuts, almonds) and caramel. A lot of toffee notes. Quite some dates as well. A light hint of eucalyptus and with a heathery / resinous edge. Plenty of fresh herbs like parsley. Beautifully composed. It seems this one is a tad more smokey than other Glenfarclas bottlings as well. Mouth: good attack, again a herbal note up front. Hints of pine needles and resin. Some liquorice. Sherried but malty at the same time. Oak, but not overwhelming. Cloves. Cinnamon sticks. Finish: long, nutty and drying on spices and oak.

One of the more herbal and smokey members of the Glenfarclas range. Around € 55.

Score: 83/100

It is composed of 18 casks from six decades and even the oldest cask in the distillery warehouse was added (cask #1711 filled in 1952). For more information, read the original announcement.

Glenfarclas 175th Anniversary
(43%, OB 2011, 6000 btl.)

Nose: a fairly gentle nose with different layers. Sweet barley sugar and young fruity notes to start with (coconut, berries). Some heather and vanilla biscuits. Much ‘older’ sherry as well (figs, dark chocolate) and a layer of subtle oak (old roses, light spices). Wax. Dusty books and gravel. Very complex and well integrated. Mouth: not the biggest impact. Rather spicy (cinnamon, pepper). Hardly any young notes now. There’s a fruity side to it - orange liqueur and Seville oranges rather than bolder sherried notes. Then growing more herbal with heather, old oak and leather. The herbal / bittersweet profile was not really expected. Finish: medium length, with some mint, apples and a cocoa note.

It’s great to see so many ‘old notes’ in a bottling that’s accessible thanks to the addition of younger malts. Adding the oldest cask was not a marketing trick, you really get a sense of old Glenfarclas here. Around € 95 but prices are going up as it seems to sell like hotcakes.

Score: 87/100

As expected, the line-up was impressive. All of these whiskies are extinct expressions:

• Ambassador blend 25 yo (43%, OB – Taylor & Ferguson pre-1974)
• Cardhu 12 yo (43%, OB – Wax & Vitale pre-1974)
• Miltonduff 13 yo (43%, OB – Salengo Import 1970’s)
• Glenfarclas 42 yo 1966 (44,4%, SMWS 2008, 1.146, 76 btl.)
• Caol Ila 1969 (54,6%, G&M for Meregalli 1986)
• Longmorn 1969 (54,6%, G&M for The Whisky Fair 2008, cask #3724)
• Ardbeg 18 yo 1974 (54,6%, Wilson & Morgan 1993, 285 btl.)

Without going into detail: awesome! Especially since the line-up was spiced up with a few comparison drams like the Ardbeg 1976/2002 cask #2390 or a legendary Springbank 12 yo for Samaroli which Whiskyfun scores 98/100. Thanks a million for sharing these beauties with us. I’ll review a couple of them later, but here’s one to start.

Glenfarclas 42 yo 1966 ‘Exotic Dusky Maiden’ (44,4%, SMWS 2008, 1.146, 76 btl.)

Nose: hints of glue and wood polish. Pineapple candy. Passion fruits. Wonderful notes of marshmallow. It goes from Turkish rosewater delight to orange water and actual flowers (which is probably why they called it Dusky Maiden – a rose variety). A candy store really, but a few background notes of spicy oak and dusty books tell you this is older than it may seem. Very special. Mouth: a rather oily mouthfeel, again very fruity with oranges and honey. The oak is also on the foreground now, with a spicy kick of cinnamon and ginger. Finish: long, exotic and spicy. Very elegant.

Old Glenfarclas from a bourbon cask is not very common, but this is a unique example full of exotic fruits. The nose is on a higher level than the palate. Around € 200 at the time but sold out now.

Score: 92/100

ps/ The rest of the bottle is available on his website

Then, a couple of weeks ago, I received four mystery samples with no further information. “One of them will be my next bottling”, Luc said, “I’m considering different options again, let me know what you think”. So I tasted them all and had two clear favourites.

Afterwards, it turned out to be a nifty selection (left to right in the picture):

• The first sample had lots of chocolate truffle, dried figs, forest fruits, mint and walnuts. Very intense but not really subtle. It reminded me of the one I had tasted before and indeed, it was the same cask #702, a first fill Cream sherry hogshead (February 1968).
• Sample n°2 clearly had a different maturation. It showed old roses, wax, precious wood and a whole range of herbs and spices (sage, thyme, cloves). This was just as intense but in another direction, with more obvious woody notes. It was drawn from cask #5240, a first fill Fino cask (which is not very common). Distilled December 1968.
• The third sample was the most vivid one. It showed dried fruits as well as fresh red fruits, mixed with nice touches of oak polish and spices. After half an hour in the glass, this one really stood out. It was clearly the most balanced so far. Afterwards it turned out to be a vatting of the two others. One and one is three, no… four!
• Finally there was a placebo: it was last year’s cask #699. I didn’t recognize it, but I discovered some new elements, which proves that it surely was a complex whisky.

No need to tell you that I preferred n°3 and n°4 in the blind tasting. Another great Glenfarclas was ready to be bottled!

The casks will be bottled as we speak, on this very day, and we can expect the bottles to be available soon. It’s great to see that Glenfarclas was willing to modify the official Family Cask label and blend in the hand-written style of the other Thosop bottlings. Very clever!

Glenfarclas 41 yo 1968 (49,7%, OB 2010 for Thosop, cask #702 & 5240, 318 btl.)

Nose: the sweeter sherry is easy to notice, but it shows much more layers. There’s a fresh layer of sweet fruits (mirabelles, redcurrant marmalade, lovely ripe tangerine and even raspberry jelly) and a darker layer of dried fruits (dates, raisins), chocolate and toffee. And a third layer of spices, oak polish, cigar boxes and some mint and eucalyptus. Just a hint of dusty oak and old leather book covers in the background. After some time it gets more playful, the fruits becomes bigger and the masculine side of the sherry makes place for a feminine softness and sweetness. A thrilling nose with awesome complexity. Mouth: a firm attack. There are woody notes, prunes, lots of dark chocolate and some cold coffee. A few notes that remind me of a meat sauce with wine (must be the mix of sherry with the herbal elements). A little mint and soft pepper. Fig and blackcurrant jam. A tad less wide than on the nose but really impressive at this age. Finish: long, drying, with lingering fruits.

In a way, this is like a richer, more powerful version of the official Glenfarclas 40yo: it shows different types of Glenfarclas style (with just two casks!), mixed together to create an even better result. Not nearly as elegant as last year’s cask #699, but just as good in its own style. Now let’s stop typing and simply enjoy…

Score: 93/100

This Glenfarclas 1968 cask #697 was selected by Luc Timmermans who previously selected cask #699 (Fino) and #702 / #5240 (Cream + Fino). All of these are 1968 casks of which he has been monitoring the evolution for a couple of years now.

This cask was previously used by Pedro Domecq to mature manzanilla, the most peculiar type of sherry, with a dry, briny and delicate profile – a coastal Fino so to speak. This type of wine is made exclusively in the charming seaside town called Sanlúcar de Barrameda.

Glenfarclas 43 yo 1968 (47,5%, OB Family Cask ‘selected by Luc Timmermans’, Manzanilla cask #697, 133 btl.)

Nose: great nose, on aromatic fruits (kumquats, Seville oranges, peach pits, guava, yellow plums, grapes – not the usual oloroso sherry fruits) and beautiful waxy / mineral notes (paraffin, scented balm). Buttercups. Quite some spices (nutmeg, mint) as well as nicely integrated, polished oak. Light tobacco. Mouth: half sweet, half spicy. The fruits are more pronounced now, more jammy with slightly more tropical hints. Soft pepper and ginger, hints of eucalyptus. Distant traces of nuts. Growing savoury, more oaky and slightly bitter towards the end. Finish: long, with lingering fruit, chamomile tea (or is that the power of suggestion?) and drying spices. Indeed, there’s also a faint salty edge.

Another impressively complex Glenfarclas from 1968. It’s a little more ‘intellectual’ than the previous two, but it’s also more unique. The price is higher, perhaps because of the official label and the cardboard box: around € 380. Cheers Luc!

Score: 93/100

One of their founding fathers, Luc Timmermans (the man behind whiskysamples.eu), is a well-known Glenfarclas collector. He picked this 41 years old 1968 vintage (his birth year), matured in a sherry cask from the excellent bodega Gonzalez Byass.

Glenfarclas 1968 (51%, OB 2009, Family cask for Luc Timmermans, cask #699, Lindores 5th Anniversary, 35 btl.)

Nose: very sophisticated. Complex layers of fruit mixed with sweeter notes of marzipan and marshmallows. Gentle sherry with honey and some vanilla. Cinnamon, pepper, toffee and cake. Some wax / oak polish, which brings it close to old Clynelish at times. A real gentleman. Mouth: big attack, fruity with hints of leather. Fresh raspberry jam and plums. Again slightly peppery with added notes of cloves. Very punchy and slightly meaty. Finish: very long, on spicy oranges. Hints of tobacco. Getting drier.

Superb Glenfarclas. Though the oak is certainly present, it’s never excessive, and the whole is never tired either. An example of perfect sherry balance. Definitely one to try if you’re visiting the LWS Fest. Available for
€ 295 (cheap if you compare it to offical 1968 Family casks).

Score: 93/100

Be sure to compare this one to the Bunnahabhain 1974 by The Whisky Agency, another heavy sherry bottling in the same series.

Glenfarclas 39 yo 1970 (54,4%, The Perfect Dram 2009, first fill oloroso butt, 240 btl.)

Beautiful oloroso colour! Nose: classic sherry influence. 1+1 is definitely more than 2 here. Very big, dark chocolate smell with raisins, oranges and dry figs. Some toasted flavours (coffee, roasted nuts). Hints of matches but far away from the sulphur alarm. Just terrific. You might argue this is closer to sherry than whisky though. Mouth: very powerful and still very sherried, developing on dry fruits (figs, prunes, cherries) and going towards balsamic syrup. Slightly bitter hints (cafe cortado or over-infused tea) with a faint salty edge. Really mouth-coating and very concentrated. Finish: medium long and very elegant.

Amazing how sherry maturation can result in such an integrated dram (like only Glenfarclas can produce). A real sherry bomb. Actually, when diluted, this is getting really close to some of my best sherry bottles… Price unknown.

Score: 89/100

Glenfarclas 1977 Family Cask
(59%, OB 2006, cask #61, 582 btl.)

Nose: the other side of Glenfarclas, more “naked” and true to the original spirit. Grains with a dash of honey. Heather and fresh herbs (marjoram?). Spicy as well, with some mint and soft pepper. After a while subtle fruits come out, like apricots and yellow raisins, but not enough to make this a balanced nose. Mouth: much sweeter and fruitier, but still rather grainy. Plenty of spices again (mainly pepper and cloves). Slightly waxy. Faint sherry influence with cocoa notes in the aftertaste. Finish: remarkably short, but warm and enjoyable. Hints of vanilla.

I’m not sure of this one. The heavy spices and strong malty notes are not entirely my style. A bigger fruitiness would have been welcome. Around € 260.

Score: 82/100

Glenfarclas also had a couple of quarter cask experiments. This one mixes two casks filled on 03/07/1987 and two casks filled on 11/09/1987. Note that they’re not QC finishes (like Laphroaig) but full term maturations.

Glenfarclas 18 yo 1987 (46%, OB 2006, Quarter cask #3704 + 3707 + 3859 + 3860, 1299 btl.)

Nose: a dry nose, with hints of breadcrust standing out. Slightly more sour and oaky than your regular Glenfarclas. Tobacco and leather chairs. A bit of library dust. Mouth: quite dry, with some oaky hints and a distinct smokiness. Then some prunes, oranges and cocoa. Roasted coffee beans and toffee. Finish: long, drying and toasted.

Interesting smoky / roasted notes in this Glenfarclas Quarter Cask. Not the classic sherry style but a nicely different variation with more oak. Still available in Germany. Around € 70.

Score: 84/100

I was delighted when I read about the Glenfarclas 1990 in this year’s Whisky Bible. It scores a whopping 95,5 and… it’s only available in Spain! At last, a previlege for me and my amigos! I tracked this bottle down and went out to get it…

Glenfarclas 1990 – The Family Malt Collection
(43%, OB 2006)

Nose: classic oloroso nose on dried oranges and raisins. Slightly smoked as well. Some pine wood, vanilla and honey. Figs. Hints of balsamico. A bit of mint. Mouth: full-bodied, quite oily. Lots of sherry again (prunes, dates…), with waves of sweeter flavours and vanilla. Chocolate and hints of coffee. The finish is quite dry and nutty, with a wonderfully warm aftertaste on milk chocolate and fruit jam. Some smoke and spices as well.

Does it deserve such a high score? I’m afraid it doesn’t, but it depends on your scoring system. In any case, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it. It’s a perfectly balanced sherry bottling that contains all the classic flavours in the right amount, I’m sure it will appeal to every sherry lover. Considering the price (+/- € 50 which is € 10 less than the standard Glenfarclas 15y here), this is an absolute bargain.

Score: 87/100.

ps/ If you want to buy this one, and you happen to be in Madrid, visit the excellent Bodega Santa Cecilia

Glenfarclas 1990 Family Cask (56,5%, OB 2010, cask #5095, 459 btl.)

Nose: great sherry power. Plenty of thick sherry, dark rum & raisins, demerara sugar, cherry liqueur. Some toffee and nutty notes. Very juicy and much richer than I expected from a 1990 cask. Water makes it more fragrant with hints of polished wood and apples with cinnamon. Mouth: again juicy, lively and full of flavour. Loads of oranges, dried fruits and plums. The oak comes marching in as well, which makes it drier and a bit herbal towards the finish. Water hardly changes it - an extra hint of mocha maybe. Finish: long and drying on oranges, spices and tannins.

This one takes the intense profile of Glenfarclas 105 and develops it a bit further, with quite some added oak but still an impressive balance. Juicy oloroso and plenty of punch at cask strength. Be prepared
for a heavy price tag though: around € 170.
A special treat for the holidays? 

Score: 89/100

Highland Park 40yo is valued € 900. Glenglassaugh 40yo and The Dalmore 40yo cost around € 1600. Glengoyne 40yo will set you back € 4000. This Glenfarclas 40yo costs around € 330… Even an independent release from a lesser known distillery would be difficult to find for this amount of money.

This 40yo mainly contains casks from the late 1960’s. When I tasted it as a work-in-progress, I felt it still needed some tweaking, so I’m eager to find out what the end result is like.

Glenfarclas 40 yo (46%, OB 2010)

Nose: rich sherry with big hints of prunes and oak polish. Quite sweet and deeply fruity, with just some hints of pine needles and resin to make it drier. Lush notes of blackcurrant marmalade, tobacco and cigar boxes. Roasted moccha. A wonderful whiff of mint and eucalyptus. An old gentleman: very elegant. Mouth: starts on dried fruits with resinous notes. Evolves in a more herbal and more winey / tannic way. Orange liqueur. Chocolate. Some black olives. Maybe missing a bit of round creaminess here. Finish: long, resinous but not too oaky. A bit of balsamic vinegar and hints of chocolate. Getting drier.

This Glenfarclas 40yo has an excellent nose and it’s certainly one of the best opportunities to try such an old whisky. An example of a great vatting, but a tad more creamy fruit on the palate could have lifted it even higher. Around € 330.

Score: 91/100

Master of Malt is supporting this charity by the release of a 9 years old Glenfarclas (the youngest we’ve tried so far), distilled in September 2002 and taken from two oloroso hogsheads. It will go on sale today.

Glenfarclas 9 yo 2002 (53%, OB for Master of Malt 2011, oloroso hogsheads #2659 & 2662)

Nose: clean, rich sherry with plenty of rum & raisins, raspberry jam and kirschy notes. Some spicy chocolate. Oranges and red grapes. Hints of almond liqueur. A very juicy (and slightly more balanced) version of Glenfarclas 105. Mouth: in that same tradition of the 105. Deep sherry with dark sugar and raisins all over. Plums. Gets spicy (cardamom, pepper) with a savoury and lightly herbal (even salty) touch. Finish: baked pear with caramelized sugar, dried orange and a fair amount of oak.

Maybe these casks were pre-destined for the 105, but they turned out to be better than average? The result is very nice indeed. Around € 45 of which around € 11 will be donated to Movember. Please note that both Master of Malt and Glenfarclas are working at cost price on this project. Great initiative.

Score: 87/100

House of Peers 25y 1955 (40%, Douglas Agency Glasgow, 1980′s)

Deep amber colour. Nose: holy macaroni, sherry! No doubt this oloroso or even Pedro Ximenez cask did its work properly: dried fruits (plums, raisins) all over, with some leather, chocolate, cocoa and a bit of eucalyptus as well. Some ash and smoke, and a few floral notes somewhere deep inside. Really excellent.

On the palate, the smoke grows bolder but the sherry is still winning hands down. You might even say this is less whisky than sherry (more plums, dried apricots, caramel, tobacco). In the aftertaste, it’s mostly the wood and bitter chocolate that are present. The sherry notes slightly evolve to kirsch (Mon Chéri?) and even balsamic vinegar.

The last couple of years, there is a lot of interest for “dark sherry” whisky (especially in Germany). Both Adelphi and G&M have of range of these bottlings, e.g. Aultmore, Glenrothes, Longmorn, Glengoyne… But apparently, it was also popular some 30 years ago.

This is sherry influence of the boldest kind. I can imagine a lot of people won’t find the whisky underneath. Not at all subtle, but without doubt different. Glenfarclas 105 is one of my favourite daily drams and this is probably its grandfather (without the cask strength and with more smoke of course). Very good.

Score: 91/100.

Update: House of Peers turns out to be a sub-brand of Douglas Laing aimed at the Asian market. Moreover, Jan Beckers (malt ambassador at Douglas Laing) told me it’s definitely not Glenfarclas. Stewart Laing couldn’t remember what malt it was either and unfortunately their archives don’t go back that far. A mystery malt!

Speyside 33 yo 1976 
(53%, Thosop 2010, cask #1420)

Nose: a warm and enticing nose showing honey and almond milk. Natillas (kind of a Spanish custard)! Lovely vanilla cream with a hint of cinnamon. Melon and apricot marmalade. A hint of crushed mint leaves. Subtle wax and oak polish. Papaya. Very sweet and creamy, like a luscious dessert. I adore this kind of profile. Mouth: immediately resinous, with some liquorice, a hint of pepper. Grapefruit. Nutmeg. Peppermint. Most of the fruity notes are pushed aside by the oak influence. Some apricot in the aftertaste. Finish: medium length. Fruitier again, with grapefruit and tangerine. A hint of mint.

After the heavenly nose, which promised a 90+ mark, the invasive oak on the palate was slightly underwhelming. Still a very nice old Glenfarclas (whoops) with the oakiness on the edge. Around € 170.

Score: 86/100

They’re all very old (most of them were distilled in the 1960’s) and matured in sherry casks. This one was bottled for The Whisky Show in London in November 2009.

Speyside’s Finest 43 yo 1966 (48,2%, Douglas Laing OMC 2009, cask #5525, 197 btl.)

Nose: full blown sherry, with lovely notes of tobacco and cocoa. Chocolate. Quite dry with a nice savoury / herbal touch (parsley and mint). Balsamic syrup. Excellent. Water adds some raspberry liqueur. Mouth: the usual raisins, chocolate and orange liqueur. Drying towards the finish (hints of dark tea), with some liquorice. Mint again. Finish: very long, spicy and really dry.

It’s safe to say these Speyside’s Finest bottlings are all very good, and some are quite excellent. Around € 145 and still available from TWE.

Score: 91/100

It will be used to release low-yield bottlings from old casks with a high angel’s share (hence the name). To let as much people as possible enjoy these casks, they’ve chosen a 35 cl. bottle with a similar shape as their full size bottles. I think it’s an excellent idea, it allows you to try more whiskies for the same budget, or experience something that would have been out of your reach in a standard bottle. True, we’ve seen a similar idea before, but I’m hoping it will really gain a foothold now!

Note that the yields can be extremely low. This particular release (from an undisclosed distillery founded in 1836) only has 55 (half) bottles! Given the low numbers of bottles, not every release will be sold in each country.

In this first batch, Belgium will see a Glen Elgin 1975 apart from the 41 years old Glenfarclas seen below. I’ve also noticed a Glenrothes 1970, Tomatin 1966 and Glenlossie 1975 in German shops.

“1836” 1970 (53,5%, Malts of Scotland  ‘Angel’s Choice’ 2011, sherry cask MoS 11025, 55 btl., 35 cl.)

Nose: a deeply fruity kind of sherry. Sultanas, figs and quinces but also juicy raspberry jam and grenadine. Everything’s coated by some very refined oak varnish, mint and old roses. Great. Whiffs of herbal tea and aniseed. Fudge. Also a soft smoky note and a clean matchstick note, but very much in the background. Very high class, especially the fresh fruits make it stand out. Mouth: rather sweet attack on strawberries and blood oranges. Kirsch. Fruit cake. Quickly overtaken by drier notes: different kinds of herbs as well as liquorice and hints of cough syrup. Oak as well. A tad rounder with a few drops of water. Finish: long, rather dry, minty and slightly resinous with echoes of chocolate and fruity notes.

Great deeply sherried Glenfarclas with a juiciness that’s certainly above average. Around € 140 for this half bottle.

Score: 91/100