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Wednesday, October 21, 2020

Glenfarclas 25 year old

I don't know if I've ever tried Glenfarclas 25. Certainly haven't reviewed it. In a previous life I considered buying it blindly because it was the most affordable 25 year old sherry cask single malt on the market. But advanced age and sherry casks (and Glenfarclas) don't always guarantee excellent whisky. So after all these years I settled on a bottle split.

The 43% abv is better than 40%, but have they ever explained why it's not 46%? Increase the alcohol content by 7% and raise the price 14%. It's the cool thing to do.

On Monday I enjoyed the 22yo 105, and now it will spar with the regular 25.

Distillery: Glenfarclas
Ownership: J&G Grant
Region: Speyside (Central)
Age: minimum 25 years
Maturation: sherry casks
Alcohol by Volume: 43%
Chillfiltered? Probably
Colored? No
(from a bottle split)

NEAT NOTES
Fruitier than expected, the nose delivers pears, apple skins, honeydew and dried currants. It also has buttery butterscotch and flowers, as well as hints of yeast and cloves. With time it develops a 🙂 Nutella note and a 🙁 cardboard note. The palate has a watery texture and needs some time to wake up. It's mildly sweet with toffee and generic citrus. Almonds, vanilla extract and mocha. It gets more tannins and caramel with time. More vanilla and pepper in the finish, with hints of dried apricots and copper.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
This is what fuels my Glenfarclas ambivalence. While it's a fairly acceptable drink, the 25 feels like mass-produced whisky along the lines of Glenfiddich (picture their standard 15yo). I'm suspicious of claims that these 25s aren't chillfiltered because this is extremely thin in the mouth, and that winds up being its biggest flaw. TRIGGER WARNING, I put the second half of the sample on a big ice cube and it was very drinkable. It stood no chance next to the 22yo 105, though that one was at its worst at the 43%abv marker too. No matter what the price tag may be, I have no need to buy a bottle of the 25.

Availability - both hemispheres
Pricing - $120 to $180 (Europe and Japan), $150 to $200 (USA), 
Rating - 83