Glenfarclas, founded in 1836 and owned by the Grant family since 1865, remains one of the last independent, family-owned distilleries in Speyside. Six generations of Grants have overseen the site at Ballindalloch, nestled at the foot of Ben Rinnes, and the distillery is famed for its uncompromising devotion to sherry cask maturation.
The 12 Year Old Cask Strength is the undiluted sibling of the familiar 12 Year Old, drawn chiefly from first-fill Oloroso sherry butts sourced from the Jerez bodegas with whom Glenfarclas has maintained long-standing relationships. Where the standard 12 is bottled at 43%, this expression is released at natural cask strength, typically in the high fifties, and presented without chill filtration.
Glenfarclas is one of very few Scottish distilleries still using direct-fired stills, heated by gas flame rather than internal steam coils. The effect on the new make is said to be a slightly heavier, more textured spirit, which copes admirably with the weight of active sherry wood over a dozen years in the dunnage warehouses.
At full strength, the Glenfarclas signature asserts itself without apology. There is no need for the richer sherry tones to be coaxed out with a drop of water, although a splash will open up baked fruit and marzipan notes quite happily. It is a robust, old-school Speysider that speaks in the same sherried accent as the distillery's celebrated Family Casks range, but at an approachable age and price.
For those who admire the Glenfarclas house style but find the 15 or 21 Year Old too polished, the 12 Year Old Cask Strength offers the raw material in unvarnished form: sturdy, sherried, and unmistakably the work of John and George Grant's warehouses above the Spey.
