Sometimes I don’t really get the whisky market. Take this Glenfarclas 1980 for example. It was a single cask release bottled in 2002 for the Belgian market, so you’d think after 12 years it has become impossible to find. However a couple of weeks ago, it suddenly turned up in several stores in Belgium and The Netherlands. Did someone invest in a pallet of Glenfarclas and recently cashed in, or has Filliers cleared part of its forgotten stocks?
It was distilled 23rd of December 1980 – that’s the day before the various 1980 Christmas Editions.
Glenfarclas 21 yo 1980 (53%, OB for Filliers 2002, dark oloroso cask, 574 btl.)
Nose: very big sherry, up to the point where it becomes flinty and almost smoky. Lots of prune juice, chocolate coated cherries, espresso and herbal notes like rosemary and eucalyptus. Tobacco leaves and leather. A whole array of aromas from earthy notes all the way to sour overtones.
Mouth: sherried whisky can hardly get more sherried than this. Dried fruits, dark herbal teas. Again a slightly funny smokiness. Leathery notes, lots of herbs as well as liquorice. Dark cocoa powder. Ginger. Quite massive and oaky.
Finish: long, still quite heavy, with hints of herbal liqueurs and some woody astringency.
Well it’s certainly interesting to see how far you can go with sherry maturation – this is very herbal and earthy with a hint of smoke and some medicinal edges. Maybe not the best example of balance or complexity, but a big sherried dram nonetheless. Around € 125.
Score: 89/100