Glenfarclas 12 Year

prominent alcohol edge; medicinal smoke and iodine; hint of malt

Enjoyable. Hard to distinguish tastes in my opinion.

Wow. I just took the first sip. At first, it tasted very similar to the basic finished offerings from the Balvenies and Glenmorangies of the world, malted barley, butterscotch and a little fruit. Which is great. But then the beat dropped and I was in it. In it. Sherry and spice took over. And then kept dancing, and dancing, and dancing. And dancing. Man. The finish lasted about as long as it took for me to finally pull the trigger on this scotch. Excellent 12 year, and not expensive at all.

Nose is sweet with loads of baked goodies such as raisin bran, vanilla custard, creme de leche, nutter butters, marmalade, baklava, and dried fruit. The palate has barley sugar, meringue, brown raisins, toasted oak, and a bit of unsweetened preserves. There's a sharp turn at the finish, with a burst of dark honey, barrel spice, and an especially punchy note of caramel apple using a particularly tangy apple. Really interesting easy sipper.

Figs and spice. Long finish.

The nose gives me raisin and fruit maybe plum. You can tell the sherry cask. The taste is also raisin, plum, spice maybe roasted peanut almost a rum note which maybe the sherry cask. Very nice. Very satisfying.

Nose: peach, general sweetness, marmelade and hint of kelp. Quite sharp. Taste: very spicy and burning at first, but quickly fades to a general sweetness. Finish : spices, but fading quite quickly. Dryness remains. A few drops of water subdue the strong spices, making it more balanced and bring out some laurel.

Close your eyes and nose this dram and you will greeted with warm apple pie, followed by creme brûlée. Dig deeper and the barley and oak remind you that this dessert indeed came from farm and barrel. The first sip reinforces the nose, filling the palate with candied sweetness, and then rolling into strong malt with light baking spice. As with the 15 year expression, there is almost a carbonation feeling on the tongue just before the finish which I find unique to Glenfarclas. Finish comes on strong but disappears fast, and if your quick enough (or just drink more) you are left with raisins or other dried fruit and another reminder of the barrel oak. It’s very close to the 15, so my advice would be to get whichever is more affordable or accessible in your area as you won’t go wrong with either.