Glenfarclas 30 Year

Rum Raisin and Leather, balanced mouth feel. Warming.

Light nose, sherry, malt. Dry medium body, nuts and red fruit, ok balance but a bit sharp and with a short finish

The finale of my Glenfarclas journey is this 30 year. After tasting the 17, 25 and a 28, I’m optimistic that this will be the best one of the lot and justify that 500+ dollar price tag. The nose starts with a modest but not overwhelming sherry blast with musty grape and toasted almonds that is swiftly followed by fresh hot out of the oven apple pie, orange zest, apricots, honey dew then slight floral notes of hyacinths along with chamomile tea then spices of raw gingersnap cookie dough, moderate cedar oak and light ethanol burn. The taste starts with medium mouthfeel with some slight sherry and orchard fruit but then it fast forwards through all those tasty fruits and rushes you into spice mode with ginger, cloves, grapefruit pith and medium ethanol burn that finishes medium length with lots of bitter over-steeped black tea that has infused with grapefruit pith and sawdust. I’m glad I skipped that retail price and just bought a sample as this is a complete disappointment and rates inferior to all of my previous Glenfarclas samples. The nose is marvelous and wonderfully balanced like a siren song that conveys you in for a taste, but alas, there are no such wonders or balance in this dram. The sip is simply a rushed fruit melody as the sirens hastily switch melodies into banshee shrieks that lay siege with bitter destruction to your taste buds one by one.

Tried the old style version of this and it was very well balanced and full of dark chocolate, dark fruit, and spices. Nose: Raisins, Figs, Prunes, Dates, Sour Cherries, Toffee, Dark Chocolate, Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Pecans, Blood Oranges, Marzipan, Almonds, Cranberries, Raspberries, Christmas Cakes, Mocha Palate: Rum Raisins, Dark Chocolate, Licorice, Treacle, Walnuts, Cloves, Oranges, Prunes, Dates, Cola, Raspberries, Christmas Cakes, Pecans, Leather, Stout, Espresso, Blackberries Finish: Dark Chocolate, Root Beer, Raisins, Violets, Prunes, Root Beer, Cola, Cherries, Nutmeg, Walnuts, Cloves, Licorice, Pecans, Tobacco, Stout, Blackberries