Glenfarclas 185th Anniversary - 70cl/46%

Distillery History:
Glenfarclas sits at Ballindalloch in Speyside. It was licensed in 1836; the Grant family has owned it since 1865 and remains independent into the sixth generation. Stills are still direct-fired. Long maturation in dunnage warehouses and a sherry-led house style define the malt. George Grant, sales director, marked 1836–2021 as 185 years of legal distilling.

Whisky Introduction:
To celebrate that anniversary, Callum Fraser and Douglas Bellford spent about two years choosing some 35 casks from the 1950s through the 2020s—six to eight decades—and marrying them a few casks at a time. George Grant called it old, rich and sherried, yet still fresh. No age statement; bottled at 46%. Compared with the 2011 175th, it is fruitier and less of a heavy sherry bomb, showing direct-fire body and the depth of the warehouse stock.

Tasting Notes:
Nosing: Jam, banana bread, waxy orange and cinnamon, with raisins, mango and mint tea.
Palate: Blackberry jam, coffee, prunes and mint chocolate, with spice and honey.
Finish: Medium-long—fruitcake, polished oak and cocoa.