Back in 2007, a very special whisky event was held in Sydney, Australia. Held at Sydney’s iconic Claude’s restaurant, it was billed as “The Ultimate Ardbeg Dinner” and it featured an unbelievable line up of the rarest Ardbeg bottlings ever assembled, including the 1965. That particular event had been preceded a year earlier by an incredible Macallan tasting (featuring the full ESC range, as well as rare bottlings from the 1980’s). And, only a short time prior to that, there was the unbelievable Springbank tasting, which featured the entire Millennium range of Springbanks. These were the glory days of tasting and appreciating the uber rare, special, and expensive releases amongst Scotland’s elite single malt bottlings and distilleries. In terms of the rarity of the whiskies at the Ultimate Ardbeg Dinner, many thought such an event could never be equalled. We may finally have found a successor…
In 2015, it was time for what I’m personally labelling The Ultimate Glenfarclas Tasting – in this instance, the most incredible line-up of rare and special Glenfarclas whiskies ever assembled and tasted in Australia. (If a more impressive tasting line-up has been held outside Australia, I’d love to hear about it).
So, on a warm and humid Tuesday night in March in Sydney, 14 people gathered for an evening of Glenfarclas goodness. The event was a collaboration between Vintage House Wine & Spirits (the distributor for Glenfarclas in Australia) and the Macquarie Branch of The Gillies Club, Australia. Founded in 1977 as a private group, The Gillies Club, Australia, lays claim to being the oldest single malt appreciation club in the world and it has long enjoyed a strong and healthy friendship with the Grants of Ballindalloch.
On that note, yours truly also enjoys a strong friendship with Glenfarclas, and I’ve written many a piece on the distillery and its whiskies. You can read one such feature article about the distillery here. It’s also interesting to note that Australia (if I can speak on behalf of the nation!) has had a long love affair with Glenfarclas. The distillery is repeatedly a high achiever in the Malt Whisky Society of Australia Awards each year, and the suberb 30yo has taken out “top gong” on several occasions. As a matter of fact, at the 2014 MWSoA awards last year, Glenfarclas took out four of the top five places in the rankings, including – once again – first place for the 30yo.
This particular evening had somewhat unusual origins, with its foundations being laid by the Australian branch of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society. (Again, the SMWS and Glenfarclas have long had a special relationship, with Glenfarclas being the first distillery ever bottled by the Society). Late last year, the SMWS bottled a Glenfarclas cask of such exceptional quality, it received the highest score ever given by the Local Tasting Panel of the Society in Australia. Distilled in 1965 and bottled as a 48yo, it was a dram that took my tastebuds to a plane and dimension I’d not previously encountered. (I hasten to add that the whisky was sampled blind and veiled when the Local Tasting Panel scored it, and so its age and identity was completely unknown at the time). As there is some crossover between the Society’s Local Tasting Panel members and that of the Macquarie Branch of The Gillies Club, Australia (yes, I wear a lot of hats in this caper), news of this sublime whisky quickly spread to the club’s Laird, and subsequently on to the good folks at Vintage House Wine & Spirits (a division of Angoves). It was thus decided that this SMWS dram should be re-united with its OB siblings, and that an evening of Glenfarclas scrutiny and appreciation should occur.
And so to the whiskies. The evening’s line up featured the following whiskies, tasted in the order listed: (Unless noted otherwise, all of the Family Casks bottlings were the original First Releases).
- Glenfarclas 15yo
- Glenfarclas Family Casks 1992
- Glenfarclas Family Casks 1982 (Release V)
- Glenfarclas 30yo
- Glenfarclas Family Casks 1972
- Glenfarclas Family Casks 1968
- SMWS 1.183
- Glenfarclas Family Casks 1962 (Release VIII)
- Glenfarclas Family Casks 1956
The 15yo was served as a “calibration dram”, designed to cleanse our palates from the preceding dinner (which included some very tasty haggis) and to prepare our tastebuds for the glorious Glenfarclas giddiness that was about to ensue.
I do not intend to present my full range of tasting notes for each featured whisky (I did, naturally, take comprehensive notes for each dram, but this would become a long and dull article if repeated here verbatim). However, the following are some general observations and comments for each whisky:
Glenfarclas 15yo, 46%
Some around the table (including myself) remarked that the 15yo seems less sherried than it was in years gone by. The oloroso traits seem a little subdued compared to where this dram sat 5 to 10 years ago. However, offsetting that observation, one could not help but acknowledge that this was a mighty fine dram in its own right. There were floral and fruit notes on both the nose and the palate that made this a satisfying dram and still a great flagship for the distillery. In the context of this particular evening, it also set the perfect foundation for what was to come…
Glenfarclas Family Casks 1992 (original 1st Release) 15yo, 55.5%, Sherry butt #264, 669 bottles
The leap from 46% to 55.5% was welcomed by the cask-strength junkies around the table, and this dram was bright, vibrant, and very energising. The nose offered both sweet and savoury aromas, which were backed up on the palate. The sweetness of maple & toffee fused wonderfully with a fruitiness that suggested a near-perfect contribution from the wine.
Glenfarclas Family Casks 1982 (Release V) 28yo, 54.2%, Plain hogshead #633, 216 bottles
Being the first dram of the night with quite a few years under its belt, the oak on this was instantly evident (particularly notes of camphorwood), but the balance and integration was pleasant and well managed. Sherbet and fruit on the nose gave way to sweet caramel, toffee, elderflower, and creaming soda on the palate. A great example of how spectacular Glenfarclas can be without sherry influence.
Glenfarclas 30yo, 43%
Always a staple and a winner any day of the week, the particular bottle used for tonight’s tasting was from some used tasting stock, and the bottle had been open for some time. As such, it had noticeably oxidised, and it was quite flat. Hard to say much more about this whisky, given the bottle was not at its best, but the presence of some sulphur on the nose did not go unnoticed by a few around the table. A fresher sample from a different bottle, nosed and tasted privately the following night, restored faith and reputation that this must surely be one of the best OB 30yo expressions available on the market today.
Glenfarclas Family Casks 1972 (original 1st Release) 34yo, 51.1%, Sherry butt #3546, 645 bottles
Bottled as a 34yo in 2006, this showed true “well aged” characteristics: Raisin and espresso coffee on the nose, followed by a rich, dark, liqueur-like palate (Kahlua?) that also offered chocolate mudcake. The finish was slightly medicinal and tannic. A true delight to drink, with lots going on, although the oak was possibly on the dominant side.
Glenfarclas Family Casks 1968 (original 1st Release) 38yo, 65.1%, Sherry butt #1316, 483 bottles
This particular bottling was showcased and launched in Australia by Glenfarclas’ own Ian McWilliam (Marketing Executive) at the MWSoA Convention in Melbourne in 2007. An incredible whisky, legend has it that George Grant sent it back to be re-gauged three times, as no one could believe that a 38yo whisky could still be sitting at 65.1% ABV! Also of note was the fact that this 1960’s Speyside dram had a noticeable hint of smoke. It is an incredibly complex, balanced, and multi-faceted whisky, and – above all else – unbelievably tasty and flavoursome. When I first tasted this bottling in 2007, it instantly usurped the whisky that had been my previous favourite dram up to that moment. It is a testament to this whisky that it remained my No. 1 whisky of all time up until 11 months ago. Tonight’s tasting demonstrated that, eight years on, it is still one of the all-time greats. It is practically the perfect fusion of oak, malt, sherry, and spirit.
SMWS 1.183 48yo, 49.8%, Refill sherry hogshead #3868, 127 bottles
As outlined earlier in this piece, the SMWS 1.183 bottling received the highest score ever handed out by the Society’s Local Tasting Panel here in Australia. As one of the three panellists tasting the original sample on that fateful night on 01/04/2014, it also received my personal highest ever score given, in any tasting forum & format, and tonight was a chance to discover whether the dram really had those credentials, or whether we were too generous 11 months earlier.
We should never have doubted ourselves…the whisky was incredible. I cannot name another dram that is so completely complex, balanced, integrated, ever-evolving, multi-layered, flavoursome, enjoyable, and satisfying. On the nose, the palate, and the finish, the whisky delivered spectacularly on every level, and it came as no surprise as scores were tallied around the room (The Gillies Club, Australia, scores each whisky it assesses) that the whisky received the highest total ever collectively given by the Club.
Glenfarclas Family Casks 1962 (Release VIII) 49yo, 49.2%, Sherry hogshead #2648, 135 bottles
With the preceding dram scaling heights never previously encountered, you’d think it would be too tough an act to follow. However, the 1962 stepped up to the plate and gave its predecessor a real run for its money. As a matter of fact, two of the members around the table scored this fractionally higher than the 1.183. Displaying sublime and just-right quantities of, well, everything, it was surprisingly bright and vibrant for its age. Whilst the SMWS bottling was perceived to be the better dram and the whisky to savour and contemplate, several in the room felt that this bottling was the one you’d happily reach for and sip and drink in good company.
Glenfarclas Family Casks 1956 (original 1st Release) 50yo, 47.3%, Sherry butt #1758, 435 bottles
It’s not every day you enjoy a 50yo whisky, and this was given due reverence. Of all tonight’s drams, where sherry maturation played a major role, this was actually the first whisky of the night where “Christmas pudding” cracked a mention and the more textbook oloroso-type descriptors flowed. Considering the geriatric age, this was still a well-balanced, satisfying and cheerful drop. The nose was as complex as any, at times even offering aromas more commonly associated with an extremely well-aged bourbon (think an old Pappy Van Winkle), yet the spirit left you in no doubt this was Speyside, sherried, and sublime.
Like the Ultimate Ardbeg night before it, and also the Macallan and Springbank tastings I was privileged to attend in the mid-2000’s, tonight’s tasting demonstrated the serious quality, class, and excellence that these top tier distilleries regularly achieve. I’ve long preached in whisky circles that age does not equal quality, and there is no guarantee that a 30yo, 40yo, or 50yo whisky is going to be more enjoyable than a ubiquitous 12yo. However, what cannot be denied, is that there is a particular character and style that whiskies take on once they reach old age. For many, the oak dominates; the tannins overwhelm; and the balance and complexity is lost. Glenfarclas is one distillery that regularly and consistently demonstrates it can successfully manage and caress its whiskies into old age.
Tonight’s whiskies were incredible; a joy and privilege to taste; and I give my personal thanks to the late George S. Grant, who had the foresight to distil and lay down this stock. I doubt he ever dreamt or anticipated that people would be enjoying those same casks 40 and 50 years later, but such is the legacy he left.
Thanks and acknowledgement must also be given to Vintage House Wine and Spirits and the legendary Mr Jim Kelly, who has long been Glenfarclas’ champion in Australia. Without Jim’s tremendous support and enthusiasm, such an event could not have been held. And thank you to the Macquarie branch of The Gillies Club, Australia, and its Laird, Bruce Ferrier, for conceiving the idea for the tasting and delivering it.
Slainte,
AD
