Glenfarclas Family Cask 2005 cask #1030 & Glenfarclas Family Cask 2006 cask #2526

Glenfarclas Family Cask 2005 cask #1030 

Region: Speyside

ABV: 61.3%

Price: £295.00

Distilled 2005 the this release slumbered in a refill Sherry butt until being bottled 27th of July 2022. 504 bottles were released.

Nose

The nose opens with candy necklaces, buttered crumpets, caramel wafers, barley sugars, grapefruit and the faintest hint of chlorine. There’s lots going on here, lots of different aromas that pull you side to side. We’re also finding something grassy and herbal, fresh pine and lavender - it’s a bit parma-violet-y. It’s got reasonably punchy alcohol coming through, but the aromas from the spirit manage to bring this into line.

Palate

The palate has more of that parma-violet-like flavour, slightly metallic, with sweet oak and slight bit of rancio too. It’s almost like drinking alcoholic lavender-scented fabric softener. The finish lingers on a little with more typical red fruits, acidic raspberries and a little cherry. The mouthfeel is good, it’s thick in a honey-like way. Time and air brings out more wood, dusty old cupboards, orange oil and shoe polish.

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose brings out more floral notes, daisies, freshly cut grass, chocolate orange and lime zest. It’s lost some of the parma-violet that we detected before. There’s also something savoury right in the background, almost like unsmoked back bacon, maybe a little bit of maple on it too. Still really interesting.

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate brings forward more initial sweetness, sugarcane, lime cordial, moving into dark chocolate and bitter grapefruit on what we expect to be the finish.. but then it mellows into a honey-like sweetness at the end of the finish.

Conclusion

It started with a very promising nose, lots of complexity, interesting aromas, but the palate didn’t live up to our expectations. We’d like to have seen a few more of the sweeter elements balance out some of the floral and dry oak on the palate. Water brings some additional complexity to this, and it’s balanced some of the ABV hit we were getting, so we’d recommend adding a few drops. Not our favourite Glenfarclas, but some may enjoy the funky edges more than us.

Score: 6/10

Value

It’s steep for a 17yo, like most of the family casks.

Glenfarclas Family Cask 2006 cask #2526

Region: Speyside

ABV: 58.9%

Price: £285.00

Distilled 2006 the this release slumbered in a sherry butt until being bottled 27th of July 2022. 612 bottles were released.

Nose

The nose opens with blackcurrants, cherry compote, nail varnish remover, nutmeg, fresh walnuts and honeydew melon. It’s got a syrupy nose, acacia honey, ground white pepper and plums. There’s a fair bit of alcohol here stopping us from getting as far into the glass as we’d like. Time and air brings out charred wood, anise and the faintest hint of dried oregano.

Palate

The palate brings candied nuts, chewy oak, honeycomb and chocolate, just big bold nutty sherry notes. There’s also a good amount of pepper spice and a touch of burnt caramel towards the finish. The mouthfeel is thinner than we expected, given the syrupy nose. The finish lingers for a slightly shorter than medium length, but brings forward vanilla, cinnamon, candied pecans and dark cooking chocolate. There’s also a touch of tobacco right at the end.

Nose (with water)

Reduction brings out much more chocolate and tobacco one the nose, a hint of rubber too. The alcohol feels better balanced now, and we’re still getting all of those nutty sherry notes we found on the unreduced nose. A few drops seems to do well here.

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate has raisins, cinnamon, bran flakes, sichuan peppercorns, runny honey, warm oak and nutmeg. It’s sweeter now, slightly less richer than before but too bitter of a finish now. There’s also a touch of sea salt appearing. We prefer it with a splash of water.

Conclusion

A bit of a simple, sherry led nose, but there’s nothing wrong with that. The palate had a disappointing mouthfeel, but did bring the typical nutty oloroso notes we come to expect and love. It’s a chewy dram overall, but it just feels a bit boring in places. Good if you’re looking for that big oloroso hit.

Score: 6.5/10

Value

Again, rough price for a 16yo, even though it’s full maturation oloroso.

• 10 - Perfection. One in a million
• 9 - Outstanding. Exceptional whisky.
• 8 - Great. Would seek this out.
• 7 - Good. Quality whisky.
• 6 - Above average. Happy to have a dram.
• 5 - Average. Drinkable whisky.
• 4 - Below average. Passable.
• 3 - Flawed. Noticeable negatives.
• 2 - Defective. Significant faults.
• 1 - Offensive. Pour it out.

If you like what you’ve read then check out our social media (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) to get notifications of when we post a new review or just to chat about whisky with us. Slàinte Mhath!