Glenfarclas 12 Year

On the nose, the first note I got, of all things, was pine trees. The sherry and cinnamon danced its way in afterward. I get an oak smell that's not too forward as well. Hope the palate is as good. With 43% ABV, let's leave this alone. Oh, a little burn, but apples, crust, vanilla, wood chip, walnuts.. not bad at all. A smidgen hot though maybe. Let's just do two SMALL drops of aqua. Man, I could nose this all day and night. More tropical flavors made their way in. A little cheaper than the Glendronach 12, but good as well. This is one to ponder. The finish is medium, but a little alcohol still there, and that's my only "complaint". 3.5. This is "Cinnamon Girl" by Neil Young. Thanks to Scott for the sample!

I was able to give this one a go thanks to our distillery group. I’ve previously tried the 10, 21 and 25 year old- none of which really impressed me much. Especially the 10 year because it seemed a lot more harsh than I expected, but then again it is pretty young by scotch standards. There isn’t a whole lot of complexity to any Glenfarclas I’ve tried and this 12 year doesn’t buck that trend. It was pretty sweet with typical sherry notes with hints of toffee and oak rounding things out. It does come off as pretty smooth when compared to the 10 and the finish is just warming enough to make it mostly enjoyable. I don’t believe I’d seek out any more bottles from these guys, but I’m glad I was able to try this one because it somewhat redeemed itself IMO. Thanks to Scott for supplying this one. It’s a solid 3.25-3.5 stars. Cheers.

Nose: dry sherry, alcohol, citrus and dark fruits. Taste: toffee upfront, with sweet, citrus and oak following. Then burned caramel takes over. Finish: Citrusy oaky finish with lots of dark chocolate and oak in the end. This dram is one of the best low to medium prized sherry whiskys. The direct heating of the pot stills brings a lovely caramel note to the whisky.