cascode
Glenfarclas 22yr old 105 CS
Single Malt — Speyside, Scotland
Reviewed
July 8, 2019 (edited July 9, 2022)
Glenfarclas tasting night at The Oak Barrel, Sydney, 4 July 2019. Whisky #6
Nose: Delicious fruity and cereal aromas melded with subtle sherry. Toasted muesli, honeysuckle, Jersey caramels, fresh brioche, a bouquet of spring flowers (!), toasted almonds, vanilla cupcakes, orange water, raisins, dates, glace cherries, sultanas, dried figs, a soft sweet sherry note, gold rum and some dusky exotic spices. There is a reserved oaky presence, more like a beeswax-polished oak dresser than a whisky cask, or maybe like a whiff of sandalwood incense, and absolutely no trace of obvious alcohol. Nosing this was like smelling my grandmother’s kitchen when she was making the Christmas puddings.
Palate: Sweet, rich, honeyed and nutty arrival. The development shows orchard and tropical fruits, crème fraiche drizzled with leatherwood honey, cinnamon and mild ginger powder, mint, cooked oatmeal, toasted sesame seeds and butter. Adding water expands this dram in the most astonishing way by unleashing a reservoir of unusual spicy notes. It gains fragrant flowers and Keemun tea, allspice, tumeric, orange marmalade, fennel and caraway seed along with fig jam and quince paste. The texture is initially creamy but with water becomes viscous and oily.
Finish: Long. The enormous complexity of the palate subsides into a multi-faceted savory-sweet aftertaste.
An excellent whisky that has the bold presentation of the regular 105, but is not focused on intense dark aromas and flavours, and instead showcases light cereal and fruit characteristics. In fact, it's better to think of this as just "Glenfarclas 22" and forget all about the 105 reference, because this and the 105 are not at all alike in profile. This is an elegant, mature whisky that just happens to be presented at 60% abv.
The palate is very complex and large, with an almost indefinable “strong subtlety” of profile. The cask presence is excellent, and it has that touch of sandalwood about it that is found in the 17 year old, and to a lesser degree in the 25, but not so much in the 105.
Most surprisingly, the high alcohol content is almost undetectable in this dram, on either the nose or palate. This truly is a cask-strength whisky that can be enjoyed neat without any burn at all, but that said I would strongly encourage taking it with a good dash of water, as this transforms the palate into something quite sublime.
It’s an excellent whisky, and good value at the price. Highly recommended if you can find it. I would have bought a bottle on the night but sadly stocks were very limited and I wasn’t fast enough.
“Excellent” : 88/100 (4.5 stars)
350.0
AUD
per
Bottle
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Plenty of 20+ year old cask in the near 60% range. I know I've seen some lag's in the 20+ range right around 60. So not that shocking, especially given their claims to having absurd numbers of barrels.
@ContemplativeFox I can't remember where I heard this, but I have a distinct memory of someone who knew what they were talking about telling me that the dunnages at Glenfarclas are an unusually stable environment, and the typical angel's share loss is only a fraction of the average 2%
Sorry you didn't get a bottle. I was really surprised to see that they'd managed to find _any_ casks that were 60% ABV and 22 (or more) years old! Though I guess I do have a couple of 25+ YO bottles of scotch that are in the 59%-61% range... OK, so maybe I understand why this is limited, but I'm floored by the fact that they managed to produce a 40 YO 105. I mean, did they just put the barrels in cryostasis for 40 years?! I'd be very curious to try that and see if it tasted at all like a 40 YO or perhaps much younger. Anyway, great tasting notes. They remind me a lot of the 105, but there's all sorts of interesting additional complexity! I like where the 105 is going, but it's sadly too young IMHO and the alcohol and harshness really take over.
@PBMichiganWolverine I'd guess it's not easy to find the required number of casks that are 22 years old but can be vatted to produce 60% or more abv. They would have to be incredibly tight to keep the angels out for that long! Personally I'm surprised that they can produce it at all, and absolutely gobsmacked that a few years ago they produced a 40 year old 105 - those casks must have been like steel!
I bought a bottle, but quite never understood why it was so limited. Seems easy enough for Glenfarclas to put out