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KWM 2020 Whisky Calendar Day 13: Glenfarclas 25 Year Old

Posted on December 6, 2023

by Evan

Lucky Day Number Thirteen is here on our 2020 KWM Whisky Calendar! What is the hump day whisky? We are leaving the coast and going into the Scottish mainland - to the town of Ballindalloch specifically for the Glenfarclas 25-Year-Old!



Going legal in 1836 and run by the Grant Family since 1870, Glenfarclas as a brand has been a model of consistency for quite a long time. This continuity is refreshing compared to the vast and often confusing changes other Scotch Whisky labels have gone through over the past decade or more. We have seen two brands change from promoting a range of vintage releases to going the more time-tested route of age-stated Single Malt Scotch. We have seen another major brand go from age statements to colour codes and back again (kind of) in that time. Talk about an identity crisis! That is what is wonderful about Glenfarclas: it knows exactly what it is and doesn't try and convince you of anything else.



What was Glenfarclas selling for their core range ten, fifteen, twenty years ago? The same bottles as they have today. Glenfarclas’ core range consists of the 105 Cask Strength, 12-year-old, 15 year old (which was in the 2019 KWM Whisky Calendar), 17 year old, 21 year old (which was also in the 2019 KWM Whisky Calendar), 25 year old, 30 year old, and 40-year-old. This doesn’t even take into account the impressive slew of Family Cask single vintage releases that at one point included each consecutive year between 1954 and 2002! Style-wise, they are still sherry-cask-focused for the entire range. No playing around with cask finishes or experimenting with peat here.



Many of us are very familiar with Glenfarclas as a distillery and the story of the Grant family behind it. The distillery has been owned by the Grants for six Generations now. All six patriarchs of the family have been named John or George. The current face of the distillery is George. His dad is still around as well and his name is John. The family has owned the distillery for more than 150 years. The Glenfarclas 105 was introduced more than 50 years ago in 1968. It was the first small batch, cask strength Single Malt Whisky released by a distillery.

The Grant's see themselves as curators of Glenfarclas distillery for future generations of their family. They want to make sure that what has been built remains, so they don’t make big decisions solely based on the boom and bust ecosystem of the whisky industry. Change is great, change is fun, but it is refreshing to find a family and a distillery that doesn’t change everything based on the whims of trends and shareholders.



Glenfarclas as a brand has been important to me for quite a while. It was my first introduction to selling whisky. Years ago I would pour Glenfarclas at festivals, sometimes alongside George Grant himself. I had the chance to visit Scotland and the distillery for the first time in October, and it made me fall in love with the whisky all over again.

[caption id="attachment_11153" align="alignleft" width="169" caption="Sold Out Andrew's Ego Release 1"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_11154" align="alignright" width="169" caption="Sold Out Andrew's Ego Release 2"][/caption]

It has also been important to Andrew and Kensington Wine Market. Glenfarclas has been very good to us over the years, and currently as well. It isn't every brand that allows you to co-opt their artwork and add your own store and ego onto the label for a special bottling. That is exactly what Glenfarclas has done for us with what we have taken to calling The Andrew's Ego Series, which is now up to its third release with this special edition of Glenfarclas 25-Year-Old, bottled exclusively for us at 50% ABV.

 

Rumour has it that if you chill the bottle down, the kilt disappears!


Back to the regular version of the Glenfarclas 25-Year-Old. That is what is in the Whisky Calendar, so that is what we will be tasting through now. Crack into that bottle!

Glenfarclas 25 Year Old - 43%

Evan's Tasting Note

Nose: Christmas cake, date squares, apricot marmalade, pralines, Werther's Original hard candies, cashew nuts, worn leather, cigar humidor and espresso grounds.

Palate: Decedent and robust with gingerbread, raisins and dates, dark chocolate, roasted hazelnuts, cinnamon sponge cake, cream of Earl Grey tea, and more Christmas cake.

Finish: Long. Rich. Beautiful.Toffee and butterscotch with dried fruits and a slightly drying nutty and oaky note that all carry on for a good long while.

Comment: The Glenfarclas 25-year-old is a classic rich yet balanced sherried single malt. If you have never tried it then you need to. If you already have one, you will probably need another soon.

There you have it! I have tasted various batches of the Glenfarclas 25 Year Old over the years, and it never disappoints. If this is in the glass, I would never turn it down. Where do you go after this bottle? Will tomorrow offer us something equally good and interesting? Will we stick to big sherry? Stay tuned to find out!

Cheers,
Evan
evan@kensingtonwinemarket.com
Twitter and Instagram: @sagelikefool

This entry was posted in Store, Whisky, Tastings, KWM Whisky Calendar 2020, Whisky Calendars

 

 

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