Glenfarclas cask #1270 (dist. 2008, Whisky & Wisdom release, Edition 2)

Type: Single malt Scotch whisky

Origin: Speyside, Scotland 

ABV: 59.8%

Age: 10 years 

Price: AU$220

This whisky is Glenfaclas single malt from cask #1270, a cask which Andrew Derbidge at Whisky & Wisdom chose to bottle after sampling single malts at the distillery’s warehouses in Scotland. Glenfarclas’ cask #1270 was a first fill sherry hogshead made of European oak, in which the whisky sat maturing for 10 years (it was distilled in 2008) before it was bottled on 3 July 2018.  

The nose is effervescent and heavy-hitting at first, with a dense blanket of sherry, plump raisin, spice loaf, and cocoa eventually parting to reveal a lovely foundation of malt, toasted walnut bread and soft honey. In the mouth, the whisky is electrifying at its strength of 59.8%abv – Oloroso sherry dries the palate, as dates, prune and raisin fade into dark chocolate, wood smoke, and spices like cinnamon and cloves. The palate tingles and the whisky’s heavy spices become prickly before the flavour profile softens into a dry winy finish. 

Overall, this is a lip-smacking and full-flavoured single malt which showcases a fiery and spicy Oloroso sherry matured style. 

Thanks to Whisky & Wisdom’s Andrew Derbidge for providing a free sample of this single malt.