Series: Heritage
(from a bottle split)
Pricing - €230, imagine that price on a 31yo today!
No qualifier on this one. This is Speyside's Finest, as per Hunter Laing. So the whisky should knock me on my ass, or my face, or my assface. This particular Glenfarclas Finest spent 32 years in a refill hoggie, so it has my attention. Time provided it with an excellent drinking strength, so I shall now wet my whistle.
NOTES
Fruit juices lead the way in the nose, with apple, kiwi, and white peach right up front. New notes arrive slowly. A dusting of vanilla powder. Twizzlers. Newspaper print. Musty oak. Vanilla frosting starts taking over 45 minutes in, with the fresh fruit retreating but not vanishing.
The palate arrives quietly. Soft florals, tangy citrus, a slight creaminess, and a whiff of old oak. It opens up after 30 minutes as key lime pie and Thai chiles appear. With more time in the glass, the whisky gets tarter and sweeter.
Key lime pie and agave nectar stick the longest in the sweet finish, with hints of wood smoke and bitterness far behind.
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Far from actually being Speyside's Finest, this whisky is a pleasant, easy drinker. Unlike many older whiskies, it's best consumed early. Don't let it sit in the glass too long, or else the oak will take over, especially in the nose. Like Tuesday's "Probably", this bottle's price was very reasonable considering the whisky's age, but as far as quality goes, it registers as more of a "session" whisky than Nikka's NAS attempt.
Availability - Sold outSometimes the Laings are confident in their secret Speyside distillery's single casks, naming them Speyside's Finest, but sometimes they're less sure, offering qualifiers such as "Probably", "Possibly", "Plausibly", and "Perhaps", as with today's whisky, named Probably Speyside's Finest. Is there a code here or are all of these whiskies of the 'Farclas sort? I really don't know, and I'm not the biggest fan of distilleries who forbid the usage of their names on their own malts bottled by independents.
Hunter Laing bottled this refill barrel for their Old & Rare series, slinging it exclusively through California's K&L Wine Merchants during the peak Covid months. It still sold through as its price was very reasonable for a 28yo.
Distillery: GlenfarclasNOTES
Orange blossoms and orange oil lead the nose, followed by a little bit of wood smoke and caramel sauce. The smoke shifts towards an earthiness, the oranges to yellow peaches, and the orange blossoms to roses.
Lychees and limes mix with smoke chiles on the palate. Mangoes meet subtle tannin. After 45-ish minutes more toasted oak spices and a hint of savoriness appear.
Truffle salt and black pepper make up much of the finish, with quieter notes of mango and smoke linger behind.
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Because I normally find bourbon cask unnamed-Glenfarclases to be underwhelming, this cask was a nice surprise. I'm not sure where the smoke comes from, but it plays well with the fruit and oak. Tannins never take over, nor does the sweetness. It's a good, balanced Speyside single malt with some oomph. If you're searching for a sherried Glenfarclas, look elsewhere.
Availability - Sold out
Pricing - it was $179.99
Rating - 87
Glengoyne 11 year old 2008 Old Particular, cask DL13643 48.4%abv | Glengoyne 11 year old 2008 Old Particular, cask DL13468 56.3%abv | Glengoyne 11 year old 2008 Old Particular, cask DL13468 DILUTED to 46%abv |
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Nose: Apple eau de vie with a bit of yeast. Lemon oil mixed with brown sugar. Orange candy appears after 30 minutes. | Nose: That orange candy note leads raw nuts, black raisins, and currants. Flowers and maple stay in the background. | Nose: Very pretty. Flowers, honey, dried apricot, and vanilla. |
Palate: Starts with a mix of blossoms, fresh ginger, clementines, and a hint of almond extract. It gains more barley and an eau de vie edge with time. Very very sweet. | Palate: The PX cask makes its intentions known here, bringing in almonds, fudge, and a dash of salt. But it can't smother the sweet citrus note. Drinks like a much lower ABV. | Palate: Dilution slightly tames the sweetness, yet turns up the intensity of the flavor, where golden raisins, salt, and cayenne pepper reign. |
Finish: Sugary mix of barley and lemon. | Finish: Sweet and tangy with orange candy and fudge. | Finish: Sweet and bitter with a dose of vanilla. |
Yep, you read that correctly, a Claret cask. A Claret hogshead, in fact. This Glenburgie spent its first 15 years in an ex-bourbon hoggie, but then a nine-year second maturation in the wine cask. Because the Claret vessel was a refill, and because the whisky isn't pink, I decided to give it a try. Who knows what fruits lie within...
Distillery: GlenburgieNEAT
Indeed, the fruits thrive in this nose. Guavas, limes, Rainier cherries, and kiwis, with a hint of sawdust mixed in. There's a whiff of chalky Chablis somewhere in there as well. Mmmmmmango, honey, and guavas arrive first in the palate. It gets tarter and more acidic with time, taking on limes and grapefruits. The finish follows a similar path, but happily holds onto the sweet mango.