LeeEvolved
Glenfarclas 25 Year
Single Malt — Highlands, Scotland
Reviewed
February 2, 2017 (edited July 10, 2019)
After a disastrous first round of golf in 2017 I need something to lift my spirits and get that sour taste out of my mouth. Perfect time for a well-aged single malt. I believe my good friend, Paul M, has supplied me with just the juice to do the job: Glenfarclas 25. Thanks again Paul, for the very generous sample.
I've had a few GFs to this point, but nothing this old. Based on my previous samplings I can't really say I'm a big fan of this distillery, but they do put all their finer offerings well into the hands of the scotch "everyman" with lower costs for finely aged scotch. I believe a bottle of this 25 year old can be had for just a tad over $150. Good luck finding another whisky this old for that price.
It's a beautiful golden yellow in the taster but doesn't really offer up much leg action as it's a bit oily and just clings to the sides when it's spun. The aroma was mostly American oak spice, cinnamon with a well-rounded roasted nut aroma. I've let it set almost 30 minutes and I do get vanilla and toffee as well. Nice.
The palate isn't very complex- oak spice and vanilla that washes away with even more wood spice and pepper. The finish is long and a bit bitter. It's significantly smoother than the 10 year old I recently reviewed, but that has to be expected given the extra time in the cask. I even poured an ounce of the 10 year old just for a reference point here.
Overall, Glenfarclas has never been considered an exciting dram IMO and the tradition continues with the 25 year old. It has really benefitted from the extra time, but I think they need to use better quality casks or work with their stills to tweak the flavor profile. And there's the rub- better casks and better still design would also erase the price point and take them back to the drawing board, which at this point can't be on their radar. They are obviously perfectly fine offering well priced single malt to the masses. Cheers to them for that and cheers to everyone that gets to taste their hard work without breaking the bank.
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Yes definitely agree Pranay. I think it's either the quality of the casks or how many times they use them. I suspect the later i.e. they are a big fan of using a cask multiple times. I've never tried the family cask or 105 range but maybe they use their first fills for those?
I've tried a sample and in a few weeks will put this head to head against bottles of Glendronach 12, Macallan 12 and Benriach 12 so it'll be interesting to see how the night pans out!
I think you're spot on. If they improved the cask quality, or still design, and/or other distillation processes, then they'd be at the same price point as any other 25 yr old Highlander. They found a nice little niche here, offering well aged malts at a price point the every-day man can afford. Imagine getting a 25 yr old Balvenie, Macallan, or Glenlivet at $150. (maybe 15 years ago?)