Glenfarclas 185th Anniversary 46% NV

Professionele reviews

Serge Valentin (88)

The '175th Anniversary', back in 2011, had been excellent IMHO (WF 88) but I'm afraid I haven't heard much since back then, the last ten years seem to have been pretty quiet at Glenfarclas. Colour: gold. Nose: there is some sherry, but not a lot, it's a rather natural, pastry-like, fat-as-always Speysider, with quite some vanilla and cakes, then various herbal teas and a few raisins. I have to say balance is perfect, you just couldn't find fault with this one on the nose. I suspect some pretty older casks have been involved, as there isn't any single roughness. Mouth: yes, excellent, pretty fruity, as if it was at least 25 year old. We're talking guavas and mangos, pink bananas, then orange blossom water, custard, overripe apples and a wide range of softer spices, cinnamon and caraway first, then a few mentholy ones, pine liqueur, sultanas... All that works in sync. Finish: not the longest ever but this fruity freshness remains perfect. Mango cake. Comments: this one's probably been assembled with much care; I find it rather fruitier than your 'average' Glenfarclas. High class indeed, happy anniversary Glenfarclas (sorry if I'm late).

Malt Fascination (89)

This year, Glenfarclas distillery celebrates their 185th anniversary. Of course, that had to be combined with a special celebratory release. And also of course, I got a bottle for bottle-sharing!

This one filled up surprisingly quickly, so all I had to myself is the targeted 10cl, and over the last weekend I decided to drink it. And ‘taste’ it, which is the same as drinking, but accompanied by writing tasting notes.
The description states that it was drawn from ‘sherry and other casks’, so my guess is that there’s at least some bourbon casks involved too. Maybe some other styles as well, but these are a minority, if they’re at all present.

What’s also interesting is that they used casks from the last six decades to blend this dram together. So there is some 50-odd year old whisky in the mix.

Sniff:
For a NAS bottling, 46% and Glenfarclas in general, it’s pretty fierce on the nose. Dry spices with almond flour and sawdust. A hint of orange pith, leather and blackberries. A whiff of vanilla crumble too.

Sip:
The dryness continues with lots of oaky notes, almond flour, lots of dryness. A slightly bitter note with a grainy texture. Quite fruity, vanilla custard with blackberries, sweet cherry and some apricot jam.

Swallow:
The finish is a bit more generic of a dry, sherry cask, Glenfarclas. Quite long with lots of wood, leather and baking spices.

The reviews on Whiskybase keep this at around a 90 point average and I think that’s a bit too much. The dryness combined with the fruits make for a very tasty and quite complex dram, but to get to a true 90, the dryness is a bit too prominent.

It’s very well worth the money. Especially since the youngest whisky in it isn’t leading the experience too much!

BOW (90)