Glenfarclas Single Cask (1997/2021 Cask#181

Tasting at Glenfarclas Distillery after a tour, May 3, 2024, whisky #5 Nose: Notes of fortified wine, raisins, dark chocolate, Turkish delight, and nutmeg. A sulfurous note was present but not unpleasant. Palate: Upon entry, flavors of caramel fondant, marzipan, plums, and sultanas. Followed by stone fruits, malt extract, stewed dark fruits, sweet black cherries, preserved orange peel, candied ginger, and pineapple chunks. The texture is rich and exceptionally creamy, almost like a liqueur. Finish: Medium length. Flavors of wine, malt, and preserved fruits. This was a special, distillery-exclusive, single-cask bottling. While the distillery's characteristic profile is evident, it differed from any Glenfarclas I've previously tasted. It was generally smoother, more velvety in texture, and had a sweeter profile, particularly on the finish. A hint of sulfur was detected on both the nose and palate, but it was mild and agreeable (similar to the fermentation sulfur notes in Springbank). It was distilled in 1997 and matured in a refill Madeira pipe (distillery cask #181), bottled on February 19, 2021, at 50.7% ABV. The bottle we sampled did not indicate the total number of bottles, but I believe it was 653 (more details below). Glenfarclas typically uses only sherry casks and, to my recollection, never finishes their whiskies, making a full-term maturation in a Madeira pipe quite unusual for them. The tour guide did show us some non-sherry casks in the storage area, but whiskies from these are apparently rarely sold. I couldn't find any online information about this particular release. However, a bottle on Whiskybase with a different label (1997 Family Reserve II Madeira Cask) shares all other characteristics, including the cask number, and states "1 of 653 bottles." Therefore, I assume the whisky I tasted was part of the same batch but labeled differently for the UK market. It was very interesting to try, but none were available for purchase. Rating: "Very Good" - 86/100 (4 stars)