Glenfarclas 105 Cask Strength

Color me the fool who thought that Glanfarclas 105 was 105 proof. I will admit I made it 80% of the way through this bottle thinking “I like the ‘farclas profile but this sure is assertive for only a smidge over 50% abv”. When my dumb eyes finally registered the 120 proof everything clicked into place. This has a classic Glenfarclas profile - a tart, vegetal, vanilla nose, concentrated just like the proof. Then chocolate, bread, oak, apricot, and orange. Extremely creamy - both the distillate and proof. I like it. In the days of yore this was an affordable bottle… now that the 12 year has gone from 40 to 70 this is in the 90 range, up from 60. A shame because I think that price point disincentivizes exploration of proof with a challenging distillate. If you can find this for a reasonable price (<$75) and you like assertive Sherry, I’d say give it a whirl.

The nose has honey and butterscotch. Relatively mild for 60% abv creamy texture and burnt char oak and not very sweet but has caramel and vanilla flavors. The finish is long with sourdough flavors and chocolate malts.