Nose: (according to the wife) Lots of sherry along with some crème brûlée and nuts.

Palate: It starts with a mouthful of incredibly rich and dark sherry. It’s thick, almost syrupy, with an intense sherry flavor. There’s that bit of sweetness along with some dried fruit notes, I picked out dried red berries and raisins. With a bit of water, a bit of nuttiness comes out to join the dried fruits making for a nice snack mix note to go along with the sherry.

Finish: Medium in length. Lots and lots of sherry along with some chocolate.

Conclusion: Glenfarclas was one of the distilleries I had planned out on our cancelled tour through Scotland so this review will have to substitute for the moment. Glenfarclas does well with sherry casks and I was really excited to try one of their with a first fill cask maturation. They’ve created a fantastic sherry bomb. It has an intense sherry flavor up front with bits of dried fruits and nuts that really elevate the sherry notes. The last bit of chocolate is outstanding and does really well to wrap this up. It does need watering down, at full proof it is a bit hot, but a few drops of water cools it down. Would I buy a bottle? If I could find one, yes.

Final Score: 82.

Scotch Whisky Review #185, Speyside Review #79, Whisky Network Review #255

Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky.
• 85-89: Amazing, will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection (if feasible).
• 80-84: Very Good, maybe only one minor nitpick about the whisky keeping it here.
• 75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink.
• 70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.