August 10, 2015

A new Glenfarclassy cavalcade

Maybe is it time to have a few Glenfarclas again. I usually find Glenfarclas rather wintery, but on the other hand, winter is very far away, and we cannot wait any longer. To make this funnier, we’ll do that at random, as we sometimes do. No verticale, no horizontale, only Glenfarclas as they come.

Glenfarclas 40 yo 1971/2012 'Red Baron of Speyside' (51.7%, Glen Fahrn, Switzerland, bourbon, 139 bottles)

Ouch, an old one. Probably not the best idea. The Red Baron? Hope this baby won’t go down in flames… Colour: full gold. Nose: instant hit. Beeswax, honeycomb, nectar, yellow flowers, custard, dried figs, crème au beurre. It’s hard to beat this style, and indeed, there’s not only sherry in Glenfarclas’ life. With water: some lovely oakiness, more butter cream, custard, old cigars, honeydew, furniture polish… Mouth (neat): just exceptionally fresh and fruity, while being complex and superbly spicy. Ripe kiwis, overripe apples, dried apricots, old chartreuse, Yquem, honey, verbena, Turkish delights, old chardonnay (Meursault, I should add)… Impeccable and implacable. With water: careful, don’t add too much water or the oak would stand out. Otherwise, it’s getting rather tea-ish and leafy. Finish: long, with unexpected hazelnuts and walnuts. Comments: just great spirit of great age from a great cask. Well done Red Ba… I mean, Glen Fahrn. SGP:561 - 91 points.

Phew, it’s going to be hard to ‘climb over’ that flying Glenfarclas…

Glenfarclas 1997/2011 (56.3%, OB, Family Casks, for Kensington Wine Market, Canada, first fill oloroso, cask #397, 656 bottles)

From Switzerland to Canada, doesn’t Scotch make you travel? Colour: deep gold. Nose: and now for something completely different! This is classic toasty, malty, walnutty sherried Glenfarclas, with chocolate, prunes, café latte, wood smoke, liquorice and black Corinthian raisins. The whole is rather dry, and is getting very coffee-ish. We won’t complain, we love coffee. With water: very funny notes of truffles, ‘good’ sulphur, black olives and… well, exhaust fumes. Not sure Greenpeace would approve, but I enjoy this. Mouth (neat): sweeter, rich, jammy, thick, roasted and toasted, with maple syrup, pecan pie, dried figs, raisins, notes of armagnac (the nearest aged booze), and oranges. It’s strong, but it’s kind of fresh, so all goes well. With water: all goes well indeed. A bit thick, but that’s for the cause. The oranges got bigger. Finish: long, spicy, with bitter oranges, marmalade, all those sorts of things. Comments: classic big middle-aged Glenfarclas, wit a sexy roughness. Nothing is missing. SGP:562 - 88 points.

And what do our friends the Russians have to say?...

Glenfarclas 1995/2014 (57.1%, OB, Family Casks, for Classicdram Moscow Festival, Russia, refill sherry, cask #3783, 282 bottles)

Colour: light amber. Nose: it’s a lighter, fruitier and more floral one again, and that might be the wonders of refill (vs. first fill). Smashing notes of quince juice (blended with apple juice, as usual), dried figs, papaya juice, then raisins and a touch of tobacco. Old Rivesaltes – if you never tried good Rivesaltes, now’s the time). Quite some rancio too, so this is rather cognac than armagnac (as far a neighbouring spirits are concerned). With water: the herbal side comes out, blond tobacco, herbal teas, a touch of fudge… All very fine. Mouth (neat): but seriously, folks, this is cognac de propriétaire brut de fût! Raisins, ripe peaches, ripe melon… There’s a lot of fun in this. With water: no, there is some malt indeed. A touch of putty comes out, maybe peach leaf tea, then bitter oranges… Classic dram indeed. Finish: long, spicy, with some pepper. Beyond that, Seville oranges, tobacco, maybe a little curry powder… Comments: excellent. Styles are different, quality remains very high. Well done Vladislav Kamanin! (who’s the distinguished gentleman who selected the cask). SGP:561 - 88 points.

All is going very well, it seems…

Glenfarclas 'Legend of Speyside - Passion' (46%, OB, oloroso sherry casks, Germany, +/-2015)

A fairly new one, for the German market. Well well well, Glenfarclas did not do any finishes (hurray), but it seems that they are going NAS just like the others. Or are they only testing the market? (yeah I know, the 105…) Colour: pale gold. Nose: toasted bread, toasted brioche, toasted cake, maple syrup, then dried fruits (figs, quince jelly, dates, bananas…) It’s a simple profile, but there isn’t anything to complain about. Mouth: no, it’s good stuff. Malty, nutty, brioche-y, with a thin slice of mint jelly and chlorophyll. Easy, balanced, and I have to say, beyond reproach at £40. Finish: good length. Cake, nuts, oranges, mint drops. Comments: it’s not very oloroso-ish, so possibly refill, and probably not the most complex Glenfarclas ever, but the gentleman who composed this sure did a great job. There’s NAS and there’s NAS. SGP:451 - 85 points.

Glenfarclas 25 yo 1990/2015 (52.6%, Cadenhead, Authentic Collection, 192 bottles)

Oh they don’t write ‘Glenfarclas- Glenlivet’ anymore. Sir, that’s a revolution! Colour: gold. Nose: fresh fresh fresh. One of the freshest Glenfarclas I’ve ever nosed (now, I do remember a 1967 that… oh forget). Custard, melon syrup, glazed chestnuts, a touch of waxed paper, old books, mojito (not joking), fresh mint leaves… It’s a very different Glenfarclas, we’re far from any sherried extravaganza. With water: hay! After all, this is summertime. Not 100% sure it swims well, having said that, water seems to close it down. Mouth (neat): fresh syrups and liqueurs. Hay liqueur, melon liqueur, citron liqueur (you should try that, Mattei in Corsica make a good one), limoncello… In fact, it is very un-Glenfarclas, but I guess that’s what we should expect from a good independent bottler. Love the freshness in this. With water: no, no water please, this baby’s a rather bad swimmer. Makes it a little cardboardy. Finish (without water): long, with some barley, sweet bread, IPA, oranges… Comments: drop water, and it’ll be superb. It’s great to be able to taste a well-aged ‘Farclas without any sherry influence. SGP:551 - 87 points.

Let’s go on…

Glenfarclas 8 yo 1969/1978 (86.8 US proof, Averys for Corti, San Francisco, USA, 75cl)

Great vintage, young age, this should be great. Colour: golden amber. Nose: whooh! Reminds of some very old Sauternes that went dry, and I’d swear I can find notes of botrytis, dried porcinis, high-end Cuban cigar… This is superlative, supremely elegant, and an ode to bottle ageing. Fantabulous smokiness (coal, wood, charcoal, cigars, whatever). Roasted chestnuts. Roasted cashew, old greases and oils. What I call ‘old garage’. Castor oil. Mouth: madre de dios! How much is 86.8 US proof again? Should be 43.4% vol., am I not right? But it feels like 50% vol., serious. Oils, waxes, burnt stuff (paper, cardboard, wood, pine cones…), chocolate, then rather old herbal liqueurs, Bénédictine, Izarra, Suze, gentian… (why always Chartreuse?)… It’s the smokiness that’s impressive, the herbal side as well, but that one does tend to make it very dry, certainly a little difficult. So not the easiest drop ever. Finish: long, dry, ashy, smoky… Dry old oloroso, I’d say. Bitter chocolate, like 90% cocoa. Comments: I’d call this baby an intellectual whisky. The more you wait, the more it gets kind of Dostoievskian, in a way. I fact, this old young Glenfarclas is fighting with you, and I’m not sure you’ll win. Pretty un-scorable, but there… SGP:462 - 88 points.

Right, this is getting complicated. Let’s have a last one, and we’ll be done. These ‘random’ tastings can get a little tiring…

Glenfarclas 40 yo 1958/1998 (52.8%, Signatory Vintage, 10th Anniversary, sherry butt, decanter, 496 bottles)

It’s no secret that Signatory Vintage have/had some stupendous old Glenfarclas. This celebratory bottling might fail to prove us all wrong, but you never know… Colour: mahogany. Nose: cancel everything, this is one of the most Demerara-ish whiskies ever. Sure there are pencil shavings and simply newly sawn planks – so yeah there’s some oak – but other than that, this is the most glorious combination of peonies, tamarind, prunes, strawberry jam and blood oranges. And earl grey tea. And Smyrna raisins. And old vintage Port wine. And tapenade. And old muscatel. And sawn mahogany (I’m making that up, never nosed sawn mahogany in my whole life). And thuja wood. And else… With water: old attic or old cellar. Long-forgotten paint, books, clothes, leather, liqueurs, paint thinners, and other carbolic and petroly stuff… As they say, echoes of yesteryears… Mouth (neat): yeah well… It’s old Demerara rum indeed. Burnt wood, liquorice, black olives, dried bananas, waxes and polishes, walnut stain (I imagine, never tried to drink that), bitter chocolate, crème de cassis… What a punchy old spirit! What’s also quite stunning is the way it gets earthier, rootier, almost ‘old Islay’, while remaining very Glenfarclas. In fact, it’s a brute. With water: fir liqueur, menthol cigarettes, liquorice, gentian. What is not to like? Finish: long, a tad gritty and harsh (this old spirit is not dead, at all), perhaps a notch too oaky, but you see we don’t care, and yet, it is a little oaky, but is that important… Comments: a restless fighter that’ll never give up. One of those old whiskies that are constantly trying to come out on top against you, even after a thirty minutes long battle. It’s not a tasting session, it’s a war! SGP:462 - 92 points.

But no, we have no limits!...

Glenfarclas 31 yo 1965/1997 (64%, Scotch Malt Whisky Society, #1.76)

Yup, Glenfarclas was the first malt whisky they ever bottled, so it’s #1 distillery. I agree, this session is becoming insane and, according to both the colour and the strength of this baby, heavy… Colour: dark mahogany, almost coffee. An oil slick in your glass. Nose: this feeling of old Demerara again. I guess you can easily imagine how heavy and concentrated some malt whisky that was bottled at 64% vol. AND 31 years can be. Pencil shavings, a bag of liquorice, malted barley (really?) and cherry liqueur (Heering and guignolet), plus chocolate everywhere. Not sure this baby goes in for subtleties… But let’s call on water… With water: no way! 60, 50, 45, or even 40% vol., nothing seems to work, it remains as dangerous and heavily concentrated, whichever the strength. Mouth (neat): hits you right between your ears. Massive, extremely punchy, hyper-strong and… Almost unbearable. It’s petrol, not whisky. With water: ah yes, there, at around 40% vol., it becomes almost gentle and civilised, but the liquorice and the dried fruits (figs, bananas) remain heavy and almost stuffy. What a fighter! Finish: extremely long, heavy, concentrated, liquoricy, rummy… Was this cask aged in Martinique or Guyana? Comments: I was joking a bit, this is great old Glenfarclas. It’s just a little, cough, cough, brutak. That would be brutal. What a concoction, you could paint the White House in brown using just one bottle of this very heavy brew. SGP:572 - 87 points.

Right, we’d better stop here, or this will get dangerous…

(but thank you mucho Diego, Igor, Mark, Marlene, Max, and Patrick)

Check the index of all Glenfarclas I've tasted so far