Whisky Review/Tasting: Glenfarclas 15 years

www.whisky.com/... Nosing 4:23
Whisky .com tastes the Glenfarclas 15 years. The sherry casks gave it the dark color and the taste.
The nose:
Oloroso sherry, alcohol, Christmas cake
The taste:
Sherry, oak, coffee note, fruitiness, spicy
The finish:
Medium
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[@GameShowManOne]

I don't know if I would ever drink any of this stuff you review, Horst - I'm a beer drinker, myself - but damned if your reviews aren't incredibly entertaining. Good stuff.

[@arakafafian]

Just cracked this open. Must admit, your tasting notes were bang on. Very powerful and impressive for the price. Thank you for the review.

[@richardsoos8902]

Thank you. I sat with my own bottle of this, clueless as to what I was tasting. You have helped me appreciate my bottle so much more.

[@Brad-ic4bp]

I'm so glad I clicked on this video randomly - I'm always looking for Scotches that have no added caramel color (a deceptive practice that you don't have to worry about with bourbon). I will absolutely buy a bottle of this to try. Hopefully, I will like it and add it to my Glendronach, Macallan and Glenglassaugh collection.

[@paintspot1509]

Almost all bourbon will be coloured.

[@dajossa1]

This is an amazing whisky. Great balance of price vs. Quality.

[@foodquig]

I don't usually enjoy whisky aged in sherry casks. I almost always get the feeling that the sherry is trying to cover up the shortcomings of a mediocre dram. Glenfarclas 15 is one of the few exceptions, and I picked up a bottle around Christmas based on your review of the 17 at around that time. As soon as I uncorked it I loved it! More than halfway through the bottle I still love it. I usually go for something peated, or if I'm having a Speyside I like Craigellachie 13 or a Balvenie 12 Single Barrel aged in ex-bourbon casks... I think what makes the Glenfarclas 15 work is the strong spicy notes of the distillery character and the 46 percent ABV. These are strong enough to not be overpowered by the sherry, which usually makes it so that sherry is the only thing that I taste...

[@koeliejoelie2]

I'll bet you like oldpultney and Clynelish too. I agree with you on de sherry cask matured whisky. If not balanced it's overpowering the distillers character .tried springbank and Kilkerran? Those are my favorite

[@foodquig]

koeliejoelie2 I do like Old Pulteney, and had a Springbank 10 last year. It was pretty good... I'll need to try Clynelish and Kilkerran one of these years if I can find some... Some other favorites of mine are Benromach Organic and Oban 14. I tried some Tomatin 15 and it was great stuff, but now I can't get it anywhere... There are so many great whiskies that I always run out of money before I try everything that I'd like to. It's the journey of a lifetime...

[@nebulusnebulus6503]

I'm planning my whisky purchases for Black Friday in the run-up to Christmas. I have an idea of getting three bottles of Glenfarclas whisky. The first is Glenfarclas Heritage. As it is a NAS whiskey I suppose it will be a blend of young whiskys and it will help me to appreciate the character of the distillery. The second is the Glenfarclas 15 which I suppose is the nexus between the younger whiskys and the older ones. The third whisky is Glenfarclas 18 for the simple reason that it sounds too nice and cheap to be true: a liter of 18 year old single malt whiskey without colorings and with a decent 43% alcoholic strength for a no nonsense budget. Optionally and if the budget allows it, I have in mind a bottle of Glenfarclas 105 with its impressive 60 degrees of alcoholic percentage I think it has to be a serious candidate for whiskey with water, with ice or for cocktails. Greetings and thank you for all your efforts to disseminate the world of whisky.

[@AmbaArt]

Hello, great review! I have a question. Why do you think that Glenfarclas can't have some peat? They officially tells that all Glenfarclas whisky have no more than 2 ppm. That means that all Glenfarclas can with a little bit peat (in 1-2 ppm). For example Bunnahabhain 12 have 2 ppm, so they so close in that.

[@rene8841]

Thank you i will buy it for my 20-th birthdays!

[@TheOneGlassMan]

Great review. I like this one very much, but I get a cigar ash note in the finish that appears after a minute or two that, in my opinion, takes away from an otherwise perfect dram. I find the 17 YO rounder. Thanks

[@stevesalt2921]

Cigar ash -- That's it. Couldn't put my finger on it.

[@randomstufftv5098]

best whiskey reviews👍🏾

[@Whiskycom]

We appreciate it! Thank you!

[@choppersplace]

glenfarclas is confusing with the many ages....what in your op represents a few of their best values?

[@Le_Trouvere]

If I was looking for a sweeter sherry influence, what do you recommend?

[@JosephC9]

Look for something with Pedro Ximenez sherry involved. I recommend the glendronach 12. More affordable.

[@PrivTrd]

Great review, just one thing I am missing. Despite looking on their website and through your review I cant seem to find out anything about how this scotch was actually matured. Is it 100% sherry cask, mixed European and American Oak, mixed Boubon and Sherry butts, hogs heads, puncheons, is it Oloroso, PX, is it double matured, finished etc... ? I don't know what it is, and I was hoping you could comment on this. Thanks.

[@Whiskycom]

PrivTrd I'm sorry, but we don't have any specific information on that. All we know is that there must be some sherry in it.

[@kylesigo7993]

I remember seeing an interview where George Grant of Glenfarclas mentioned that they don't do any finishings. So they may be doing PX, Olorosso, bourbon, etc. in first-, second-, third-fill, etc. casks, but whatever they put it in, it stays there for the duration of it's maturation period. No moving around from cask to cask to cover up a poor maturation with a finishing period. But then they're blending a number of barrels together to put together batches of a particular age, so that accomplishes the consistency of flavor profile that they're likely looking for, at least in the younger bottlings.

[@sukkhiiii]

Glenfarclas don't have any of ExBourbon casks, you can check this fact in the distillery visit video of Ben leuning, so its Exsherry and hogshead...

[@vi1802]

Which one is your favorite Horst? The 15, the 17, the 21 or the 25?

[@veselinshentov9682]

I saw a video which he says 25 is in his top 5 single malt.

[@burkhartkevin]

why would barley husks be inside the copper still to bake on?

[@thecigarporch4509]

It probably gets a rough filtering before distilling but some of the hulls probably make it through into the distillation process.

[@MrSabinR]

Horst, love your videos! But i don t know why, when you open a small miniature bottle it doesn t have the same effect on me. Open the real bottles! :D

[@chodaczek333]

I ve got a question what is the meaning of ' mouth ?watering? ' please help me and explain thanks in advance ;)

[@Whiskycom]

chodaczek333 Definition of MOUTHWATERING: arousing the appetite : tantalizingly delicious or appealing

[@chodaczek333]

Thx ;-)

[@johnellington1932]

Very good video. Figure daydream. Drink this. Super Distillers.

[@user-hb1ve6mc6f]

it's dark let's party?

[@alexpapa7524]

Sounds like you enjoyed the 12 year better than the 15

[@Ds14n]

That is exactly what I noticed, now I don't know which one to get

[@lurk7967]

@@Ds14n 15

[@Ds14n]

@@lurk7967 I tried samples of both, but later got a great deal on a 18 year old. Fantastic experience.