Tastes

Re-tasted at Glenfarclas Distillery, post-tour tasting, 3rd May 2024, whisky# 2 The 105 expression is a very consistent whisky. I jotted down a few notes on the day of the tour but I know this whisky very well and comparing what I wrote with my previous review below there is nothing new to add. My rating remains the same. One useful piece of information I picked up from our tour guide (a retired Glenfarclas warehouse manager) is that 105 is a vatting of 8, 9 and 10 year old sherry casks with the majority being 10 years old. The casks are a mixture of first-fill and refill, with the majority being second fill. There is no bourbon cask maturation. ---------------------------------------------- Glenfarclas tasting night at The Oak Barrel, Sydney, 4 July 2019. Whisky #5 Nose: Strong aromas of sherry, toffee, roasted nuts, malt, ale, pumpernickel, dark honey, leather, orange marmalade, marzipan, liquorice, caramel, coffee, dark fruit cake, glace cherries and vanilla. Water develops spice aromas and broadens the nose. For a high-strength whisky there is surprisingly little alcohol apparent. Palate: Potent, sweet malt with drying alcohol. Highly sherried but also peppery and dry, the arrival swamps the palate and takes a moment to subside. Once it does, brown sugar and spice notes come through on the development along with a lot of nutty flavours (almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts), dark boiled Christmas pudding, rum, brandy, dates and candied figs. It takes water extremely well and this softens it excellently. Diluted down to under 50% abv it remains a powerful dram but citrus, black cherry and bittersweet cacao notes that were previously obscured can now emerge. Finish: Medium/long. Dark chocolate, coffee, preserved fruit and malt. The aftertaste is sweet but with a little dry tannin. The original high-strength, core-range, single malt NAS. 105 is a bold and hugely flavourful whisky but it’s not what I’d call a sherry-bomb. It’s more a leathery, bready malt-bomb. This expression has presence, reserve and dignity, but in comparison to the 25 year old (and arguably any of the age statement expressions right down to the 12 year old) you could argue that it has less complexity. It can be taken neat, in fact many people will only drink it this way, but for my taste it needs water and I always take it diluted down to around 45% abv. Not only does this tone down the alcohol presence it also brings out many subtle nuances that are otherwise obscured. “Very Good” : 85/100 (4 stars)

Re-tasted at Glenfarclas Distillery, post-tour tasting, 3rd May 2024, whisky# 3 Like the 15 year old that I tasted on the day of the tour, this was more fragrantly floral than I remember the 25 year old ever being, and once again I cannot account for this unless it was due to batch variation or my senses being heightened by tasting it at the distillery. Otherwise my notes were very similar to the review I had previously posted here (see below) so there is nothing else to add. However, it is worth repeating the correction to the Distiller scope notes for this listing. Glenfarclas 25 (like all Glenfarclas core expressions) is 100% sherry cask matured. Bourbon casks are not used, but the distillery will re-fill casks up to three times (i.e. 4th fill). It is my belief that the balance of casking has shifted further towards re-fill over the years whereas back in the day this was mostly 1st fill matured, but I have no proof for this. “Excellent” : 88/100 (4.5 stars) ----------------------------------------- Glenfarclas tasting night at The Oak Barrel, Sydney, 4 July 2019. Whisky #4 Nose: Sherry, dark honey, orange marmalade, espresso, dried fruits (figs, dates, apricots, apples, raisins), herbal notes, powdered ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, marzipan and walnut loaf. An uplifting aroma of old, but healthy, oak cask. This nose is very reminiscent of a dunnage warehouse. There are slight aromas of mint and pipe tobacco in the background that only emerge over time. Palate: The arrival is immediately captivating – velvety smooth with no intrusive spirity presence, it’s an enfolding cashmere blanket of sherried malt enlivened by a light touch of gentle spice. As it develops you notice the dark fruitcake heart of the palate. Mixed fruit and nuts, cherries, dark chocolate, coffee and manuka honey. Oak tannins provide an authoritative foundation with warm baking spices in abundance but there are no harsh, sharp or hot notes. The signature Glenfarclas spicy ginger is much mellower here. The texture is rich but firm, and overall the palate is precisely poised between sweet and dry. Finish: Medium/long. Clean dark fruitcake flavours fade into inky blackness leaving a delicate walnut and bittersweet dark chocolate aftertaste. This whisky has many of the profile characteristics that are found in younger Glenfarclas expressions but nothing here is loud or artless. There is a relaxed refinement about the profile and great complexity, so intricate and subtle that at first introduction the whisky might seem simple. It's all about the interplay of bold aromas and flavours that have modulated and interacted over time to create a mature whole. Give this whisky 20-30 minutes to compose itself in the glass before tasting and don't hurry the experience. It may seem a little understated at first but there is a great deal to discover if you are patient and allow it to unfold at its own pace. If this were a painting it would be a Constable landscape. Note: The Distiller notes on this site say that this whisky is matured in a combination of bourbon and sherry casks, but that's not correct. Glenfarclas 25 is, and always has been, 100% oloroso cask matured, using a combination of first-fill and refill. "Excellent" : 88/100 (4.5 stars)

Glenfarclas tasting night at The Oak Barrel, Sydney, 4 July 2019. Whisky #3 Nose: A bouquet of rich, sweet aromas – brown sugar, musky cherries, raisins, candied orange peel, sherry and light buttery caramel. There are also darker notes of dried fruit and nuts that prevent the nose from seeming overly perfumed, despite a quite hefty vanilla fragrance. It’s an alluring nose that treads a fine line between being voluptuous and overblown. There is a faint smoky note on the dry glass but it’s not peat-reek. Palate: Sweet malt and spice arrival that gives way to a development redolent of red berries and stewed fruits, roasted chestnuts, milk chocolate and aromatic baking spices (cinnamon, nutmeg and caraway). The texture is warm, rounded and supple with a satisfying creaminess. There is also a striking marzipan presence, the nuttiness of which is balanced by a mature but sprightly oak note that gives structure and dignity to what would otherwise be an over-sweet palate. Finish: Medium/long. Soothing chocolate malted milk and a sweet earthy aftertaste with a hint of tannin. The 17 year old has some foundation similarities to the 15, the texture being similarly chewy and mouth-coating, however this is an altogether softer and more fragrant dram. It recalls some facets of the 12 year old, which is also quite fragrant, but the nose here is richer and heavier – in comparison the nose of the 12 year old can seem a little candyish. This expression was originally introduced in Japan in a bid to combat grey-market imports of 15 year old Glenfarclas. It proved to be extremely popular, which is not unusual as it's soft, perfume-like fragrance is reminiscent of mizunara cask maturation. It was later distributed more widely, becoming part of the core range for most markets. “Very Good” : 85/100 (4 stars)

Re-tasted at Glenfarclas Distillery, post-tour tasting, 3rd May 2024, whisky# 1 I’ve had this whisky many times over the years, but it has never smelled or tasted as fragrant as it did at the distillery. Glenfarclas new-make has a musky, floral quality that persists into all their whiskies, but sometimes it is very subtle, particularly in the 15 and 105 expressions. I can’t explain this. I don’t believe that whisky does not travel well so maybe it was just the context of being there, or maybe the batch we tried was a particularly good one. Glenfarclas is notoriously inconsistent, particularly this 15 year old. Whatever the reason, I feel I should bump my rating up slightly from the 83/100 that I have consistently given it here since 2017, but I still believe this is a generally over-rated whisky, and the official score here of 91 is too high. “Good” : 84/100 (3.75 stars) ---------------------------------------------------- Glenfarclas tasting night at The Oak Barrel, Sydney, 4 July 2019. Whisky #2 Nose: Sherry, malt, dark fruitcake, baked raisins, a resinous note. It's a very rich and muscular nose and there's a faint smoke aroma, but it's more like slightly overcooked cake or bread than peat-reek. Palate: A rich, spicy and oak-prominent arrival. Medium-dry sherry, dates, raisins, dark cherries, boiled fruit pudding, orange marmalade, walnuts and Brazil nuts. There's also very slight caraway seed and mint notes, and the texture is big, mouth-watering and almost chewy. Finish: Medium. The palate fades out to a dark fruitcake aftertaste with some resinous, tannic dryness. For me this whisky is less fragrant and immediately approachable than the 12 year old and 17 year old expressions that bracket it in the core-range lineup, and it has always seemed a bit hard and aloof to me, with an overcooked quality. The musky floral aromas that stand out in the younger expressions are still present, but this also has a resinous oak aroma and a dry spiciness on the palate that tend to blanket the lighter tones. It is also one of the most inconsistent malts in the range. The batch last year was very good, but this current one lacked engagement for me. However by any standard it has always been a "good" malt and it is consistently voted the favorite Glanfarclas expression by enthusiasts of the distillery. "Good" : 83/100 (3.5 stars) ---------------------------------------------------- [Review from April 30, 2017] Nose: Sherry, spice, raisins, stone fruits, good oak without being too woody, Dundee cake, chocolate and a note of bay leaf and a lightly floral aroma. Palate: The arrival is immediately sherried, but not over-sweet or fruity. As it develops, a spectrum of subtle spice emerges on a malty, bready, cereal foundation. Raisins, sultanas, dates and walnuts – rather like walnut bread, in fact. There’s a light hint of smoke in the background, balanced by a tiny whiff of mint and caraway seed. Finish: Medium/long. Christmas cake flavours that slowly fade away. As with all Glenfarclas, give this time to relax in the glass so it can show its true colours. Their whisky is always a bit reticent straight from the bottle and needs space to breathe. A small dash of water helps this process but again give it time to recompose. Glenfarclas has to be taken at its own pace, which is slow and measured, and if you do so the rewards are great. Rush it and you’re only getting a fraction of the story. This expression is the favourite of the core range for many, but for some reason it has always been the one I least like. There is a hardness to it - an overcooked, almost burnt quality that does not engage me. “Good” : 83/100 (3.5 stars)

Glenfarclas tasting night at The Oak Barrel, Sydney, 4 July 2019. Whisky #1 Nose: Sherry, malt, soft fruit and a fragrant, honeyed musk note. There's the alluring aroma of a good oak cask in the background and an ultra-light smoky note but it's not peat smoke. Water brings out a little caramel on the nose. Palate: Sweetly spicy and expansive on the arrival with dark fruit cake and walnut bread flavours, it develops more dry spices and very soft tannins as it develops. The texture is firm and confident with a slight creaminess. With water some light maple syrup notes emerge. Finish: Medium. Spicy dark fruits and a medium-dry sherry aftertaste. A very friendly 12 year old single malt that offers good value. It's broad, rich and full and has great balance but like all Glenfarclas this whisky needs more time to rest in the glass than you might think. Don't rush it. It's only when you taste this malt in direct A-B comparison with older Glenfarclas expressions that it seems at all wanting, and then it's not because of any fault with the 12, but simply that the older whiskies are even better. It's one of my all-time favourites and a standby. Also, Glenfarclas is a distillery that positively embraces and celebrates batch variation, but this is probably their most consistent whisky. "Good" : 84/100 (3.75 stars) ------------------------------------------------------ [Review from July 25, 2017] Nose: Elegance personified. Initially it may seem simple and somewhat ordinary but there is depth to be explored. Allowing time for development in the glass is repaid with the revelation of gentle oak, sherry (lots of sherry) and malt, all packaged as a seamless whole. There are also some hints of fresh-cut mint, dry spices and citrus (notably orange) zest, and a lightly musky floral tone. Palate: Malty and sherry-rich arrival with a solid texture. Turning slightly resinous and dry as it develops but with sherry overtones and warm spicy notes (ginger) weaving throughout against a subtle dark orange background. The more you taste it, the more becomes apparent. Finish: Medium/long, grapey, oaky and a little oily. Somewhat spicy, a touch hot and with an interesting tannic overtone. This current batch of the 12 year old is possibly the best I've tasted. It's in really top form. Glenfarclas 12 is sometimes considered a young or introductory malt while some other whiskies are thought to be well matured at that age. I guess it’s because there are so many much older age statement whiskies in the Glenfarclas stable that in comparison this seems like one of the “youngsters”. There's also the fact that Glenfarclas is a very big distillate that can take long maturation in its stride, and yes it does benefit from this. However for me 10-15 years is the point where Glenfarclas first becomes really interesting. The 10 year old is fruity and cereal in nature with floral notes from the new-make still prominent. The 15 is much more dark fruit cake and the wood influence is on the ascendent. This 12 is right in the middle, shows some of both these character profiles and has great balance. “Good” : 84/100 (3.75 stars) [AUD$120.0 per Bottle in 2017] ------------------------------------------------------

Bowmore tasting evening at The Oak Barrel, Sydney, June 26th 2019: Whisky #6 Nose: Rich, buttery, and very fruity. Some restrained sherry notes and in the background a whisper-light smoke aroma. There are also some citrus/brine notes that are part of the Bowmore house style, but they are very restrained and mainly noticed on the dry glass. Palate: Spicy, sweet, fruity and smoky arrival. Very full and complex with great depth. Layers of flavour unfold as the development proceeds, intense in character and subtle in interaction. There is a light briny note that is restrained, like the nose, and the texture is full and rounded. Finish: Medium/long. Brine, subtle smoke and sherry fade to a mouth-watering sweetness with a slightly ashy aftertaste. Distilled in 1994 and bottled in 2018, this tasting was from one of 521 bottles yielded by cask #555 (given the size of the bottling and the colour of the whisky this was most likely a refill oloroso sherry butt). A very enjoyable whisky that possesses a more open and clean character than any official Bowmore I've tasted. It was also not as tight as I'd expected, having a generous nose and palate when neat - but then it has relatively low abv for a cask strength whisky. The addition of water produced an avalanche of fruit, particularly on the palate, and transmuted the modest salty presence into a crisp thin sweetness. Delightful either neat or diluted. Overall I though it to be superior to the official 18 year old expression and it certainly provided an interesting slant on the distillery profile. Why can't Bowmore produce whisky like this themselves? The price is, however, rather excessive - more than I think is justified. "Very Good" : 87/100 (4.25 stars)

Nose: A sweet, fruity, almost bubblegum aroma that comes as much from the grain whisky component as any of the malts in this blend. Some light malty cereal notes and a prominent spirity aroma. It's a simple nose, but there's noting wrong with it. In the past I've noted a faint tinge of smoke but it's absent from this particular bottling. [Correction: On the dry glass there is just the faintest whiff of wood-smoke]. Palate: A sweet arrival that is lightly malty and vaguely fruity. Again, there's a spirity note and you can taste the grain whisky but it's not unpleasant. There's no development at all and very little finish - the initial flavours just fade away. The texture is good for a bottom-shelf scotch - it has a supple satiny quality that is only let down by also being slightly thin. Finish: Very short. The aftertaste is a simple dilute cereal sweetness. Once again the "budget mixing scotch" shelf was bare and the choice this time was JW Red. Despite having a generally poor rep I have a soft spot for this old campaigner. It's inexpensive, universally available, and I can honestly say that of the many bottles I've had over the years not one has been less than adequate to the task. It's not a special dram to sip slowly and ponder - it's a mixer to take with ice, soda or soft drink, or add to coffee or tea. Mind you, it *can* be enjoyed neat which is more than I can say for most bottom-shelf scotch. "Satisfyingly Adequate" : 74/100 (2.25 stars)

Bowmore tasting evening at The Oak Barrel, Sydney, June 26th 2019: Whisky #5 Nose: Brine, seaweed, anchovies, citrus fruit and brackish vanilla. A dry resinous woody quality along with the ubiquitous Bowmore citrus characteristic. The smoke has a peculiarly captured and constrained character. I don't quite know how to explain it - it's as though most of the smoke has been artificially removed. Some dark floral hues show up, but salt dominates. Palate: A briny, spicy, sweet, hot and smoky arrival that extends through the development becoming dry as it unfolds. I could be describing mezcal instead of whisky. The development is disappointingly simple - lemon, brine and tannins ... and more brine. There are some pleasant smoke notes but on the whole it's pretty one-dimensional and most oddly it's also mild in overall character. Finish: Medium/long. Salty and dry evolving into a dusty cocoa aftertaste. This is a very tightly locked down and overly salty whisky. With water the character expands and gains some much-needed sweetness and balance ... until it suddenly falls apart. This was the first of a series of expressions intended to explore the “four pillars” of the Bowmore profile, and it focuses on salt (a pillar of salt ... hmm). However this whole approach seems fundamentally flawed to me. If these four characteristics are equally important then why create an intentionally unbalanced expression? It has some interesting features but for me it was like a flawed version of Tempest No. 6, and the killer is that this below average whisky is more expensive than Bowmore 18. "Adequate" : 74/100 (2.25 stars)

Bowmore tasting evening at The Oak Barrel, Sydney, June 26th 2019: Whisky #4 Nose: Ginger syrup with a touch of sherry, a thin spread of orange marmalade over caramel sauce and warm but restrained floral tones (jasmine? violet?). The otherwise sweet nose is enlivened and balanced by a supple and well-defined peat-reek that is broad, mellow and expresses complexity, and by a delicate seaweed note and an olive-brine aroma. Palate: A sweet citrus, sherry and spicy arrival. The development brings forceful but fragrant smoke not unlike aromatic pipe-tobacco but the sherry notes are never far away. There's a sweetly floral, stewed fruit quality and some leathery richness that brings complexity to the palate. It's very complete and the signature Bowmore saltiness is also present. The texture is excellently rounded and lightly oily with dark chocolate and walnuts towards the finale. Finish: Medium/long. The flavours majestically saunter off into peaty, dark chocolate sweetness with a touch of orange zest. I've tasted the 18 year old previously and not taken proper notes, but I think this current expression is a notch above previous batches. This whisky is where Bowmore suddenly seems to come of age, and it confirms my long-held conclusion that old Bowmore is good Bowmore, and young Bowmore should be avoided. It's a conspicuously more complete and satisfying whisky than anything younger in their range, with the notable exception of some of the bourbon-matured cask-strength expressions, like Tempest. A lot of what is good here is down to excellent sherry-matured components and overall it's a delightfully elegant whisky with layers of complexity to explore. Water brings out a little more spice and expands the smoke on the finish, but otherwise does not change much about the profile. I'd recommend taking it neat. One word of caution - this is a slow whisky and it needs a lot of rest in the glass before it starts to reveal its charms. I’m giving it 4 stars, but it just barely makes it across the line and at the price it is not a recommended buy. “Very Good" : 86/100 (4 stars)