SpartaTodd
Glenfarclas 15 Year
Single Malt — Highlands, Scotland
Reviewed
July 16, 2021 (edited July 27, 2021)
I recently did a tasting vertical of Glenfarclas 12, 15, 17, 21 and 25 along with the 105 NAS. I have full bottles of the 12, 17 and 105 NAS and got a sample set of the others to see what I was missing. My feeling is that I was not missing much.
It seems like GF peaks at around 17-18 years with their production offerings. I suspect that any really good older barrels are being sold as single cask offerings.
Not inexpensive as the 12-year old and not as complex or tasty as the 17-year old. There is nothing wrong with this 15-year old expression but nothing that stands out about it. It kind of makes me wonder about the Distiller score. I think this score like many was based on a much older release when the quality was much higher. It is certainly not bad but I would recommend getting the 17-year old or 105 NAS instead.
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@Soba45 I speculate that they’re saving all the good casks for the special family bottlings
I got to try a 1980s bottling and that was really really nice stuff. IMHO it's fallen a long way since then. The 1980s bottling seemed to have loads of 1st fill cask, latter bottlings seem pretty anemic.
I think the 15 yo has a particular profile that strikes a chord with certain malt enthusiasts, and you either "get it" or not. Personally, I don't, although I very much like Glenfarclas otherwise. It's also incredibly inconsistent, like all their whisky.
@Scott_E Congratulations on the wedding. I hope you really enjoy it. Some expressions are better than others to each palate but their all good whiskys. We are not talking about JW White Walker here. 😁
@SpartaTodd (I think) I plan on getting a bottle of the 25 to share with a select few appreciators in celebration of my sons upcoming wedding.
If you can get the samples it is the way to go. I had the 12,17 and 105 and the sample set was 15, 21 and 25 so it was perfect. I really don't feel like I was missing out on anything which is sad. I have heard the 18 like the 17 is really solid.
Ive had the 10,12 and 21. I have been on the fence with the 25for a while now. I will look for the 17 as well