A first review of a Glenfarclas whisky here on Whiskylifestyle. And that honour goes to a Glenfarclas 2003, from The Family Casks series. Bottled for Le Gus’t, a French liquor store located in the South of France.
The Glenfarclas series The Family Casks was launched in 2007, and initially the collection consisted of 43 different bottlings ranging from 1952 to 1994. All bottlings came from single casks, one cask for each year. Since that year there have been further releases. Some releases are intendend to replace the casks which have sold out, and some to extend the range with new vintages. An impressive range of stunning whiskies that keeps on growing every year.
This Glenfarclas has matured in a sherry hogshead and is bottled at 56,8% ABV.
Glenfarclas 2003 tasting notes:
Nose: Wow a fantastic nose! An abundance of red fruits; strawberries, raspberries and red cherries. Dried forest fruits with a topping of marmelade. Christmas cake and a touch of maltiness. Some milk chocolate and somewhat nutty, ending with tobacco.
Taste: Holy moly this is sweet! Sweet sherry, chocolate and cacao with some sugar sweetness and hazelnuts. Also followed by tobacco and also a little bit of ash. With water it becomes more friendly and less sweet.
Finish: Very dry in the finish, with dried figs, tobacco leafs and a lot of dark chocolate the 80% pure version. Like putting a spoon of cacao powder in your mouth (yes we all tried that… )
In conclusion: I love the nose, but the taste and finish are a bit too dry for me. But all in all it’s just a great dram, absolutely one for the sherry heads.
