Glenfarclas
Number 05 of 50
glenfarclas 10 Year Old
Age: 10 years
ABV: 40%
Chill filtered: Not stated
Natural colour: Yes
Price: £40-£45 (we found it for £35.99)
What they say
Delicately light with a mouth-watering combination of maltiness and sherry sweetness. Hints of dried fruit, vanilla, cinnamon and cloves.
What we think
A great everyday dram. Appealing to the masses in the nicest possible way, but the finish lasts longer and the mouthfeel seems bigger than you’d anticipate given its age.
THE Background
Decades ago, so the story goes, in the days before visitor centres were de rigueur, curious holidaymakers on Islay would sometimes knock on the door of a particular distillery. The distillery manager would offer them a tour but never a dram from the warehouse for fear of putting the uninitiated imbibers off whisky for good. Instead, apparently, he would pour from a bottle of Glenfarclas and offer his visitors an altogether less taxing tot.
The 10 Year Old (YO), according to unofficial Glenfarclas brand ambassador Peter Donnelly, would have fitted that bill perfectly.
The distillery itself was built on Speyside in 1836 and was sold to a cattle breeder named John Grant in 1865. It has remained in the Grant family ever since, with today’s chairman John being the fifth generation to steer the famous brand, which makes what it rather enigmatically describes as ‘a Highland single malt in the traditional Speyside style’. It holds just short of 100,000 casks on site, and until recently could call on stock from every year dating back to 1953.
THE Ethos
“I like to think Glenfarclas is made the expensive way: with direct fire stills, 100% Oloroso sherry casks and traditional dunnage warehousing that only stores the whisky three casks high,” says Peter. “This is one of very few distilleries in Scotland that still uses direct fire stills. They bring a real character to the whisky; an oiliness, more mouthfeel and texture – if you're looking for what is different, what is special, what is unique about Glenfarclas, that is very much a part of it.”
Direct fire stills are heated from underneath by a naked flame rather than from inside by steam-heated tubes. “Steam coils were trialled in the 1980s but that process changed the new make spirit so much that the coils were very quickly removed,” says Peter. “The team at the distillery could taste the change in the new make, but when it was sent to be analysed anonymously by a third party it couldn’t be recognise as any particular whisky.”
the Whisky
So how would you recognise Glenfarclas today? Well, the 10 year old is light and fresh, a classic Speyside matured entirely in Oloroso sherry casks. At 40%ABV, it’s a great everyday dram, a whisky that appeals to the masses in the nicest possible way, but the finish lasts longer and the mouthfeel feels bigger than you’d perhaps anticipate given its age.
“The industry has changed a lot in the last 10 years, but a decade ago Glenfarclas would have tasted 99.9% the same as it does today. That is the ethos here: to make whisky the best you can possibly make it,” says Peter. “The big thing in the last 10 years has been finishing. I think it’s wonderful for the industry – it has definitely brought a lot of people to the category – but Glenfarclas doesn’t finish its whisky.”
Instead, Glenfarclas matures its whisky in 100% Oloroso sherry butts which cost about 1,000 Euros a pop and need to be seasoned for three or so years before they are even filled with whisky. The butts are used a maximum of four times, with the releases using a combination of first, second, third and fourth fill casks. For the 10 Year Old, with its light and fruity style (and no doubt to keep its affordable price point) that mean a combination of third and fourth-fill casks.
THE FUTURE (AFTEr you’ve tried the 10yo)
The 10 Year Old is a delicious everyday dram (particularly when a quick internet search reveals you can grab a bottle for £35.99!), but it is aIso a great first step in what is a delightful meander through the Glenfarclas range.
“It's not until you do a vertical tasting through the core range [10YO, 12YO, 15YO, 21YO, 25YO and 105 Cask Strength] that you realise how different the whiskies are,” says Peter. So how would he describe that journey through the range?
“As a bit of a roller coaster! With the 10YO you’re getting on board, you’re drinking along quite easily and merrily. With the 12YO you start to go a little bit faster – there’s more body to the 12, more sherry influence coming through, more fudge and toffee and vanilla. The 10 Year Old is at 40%ABV, we step up the alcohol to 43%ABV for the 12YO. Next minute, BOOM!, you’re up to the 15 Year Old. This is what I class as a whisky drinker’s whisky: 46%ABV, much more dark fruit, more raisin, more dark chocolate, a big mouthfeel and a real depth in the nose as well. There’s more third and second-fill casks coming in here, so much more of the flavour is coming through.
“The 21 Year Old is a totally different flavour; much drier on the palate, with a long, long finish. It’s more elegant and more sophisticated – and that’s deliberate.
“I don't really use tasting notes because I believe everyone tastes differently, but the 25YO for me has Christmas flavours on the nose and palate; rum and raisin ice cream, Christmas pudding, dark chocolate, Seville oranges…
“Every Christmas Eve, I pour a 25YO, leave it in the kitchen and close the door. When I get up the next morning all I can smell is Christmas. And finally, the 105 Cask Strength is a major explosion in your mouth, it’s just this massive sherry bomb, a real depth of flavour.”
Glenfarclas feels as though it is all class and no fuss. From the traditional-looking label to the distillery’s red doors, to the liquid itself, the brand feels warm and welcoming. And if you’ve only tried the 10 Year Old and nothing else, it’s like starting on an exciting adventure.
And the price of a ticket? Just £35.99.