Glenfarclas 17 Year Old
Glenfarclas · Glenfarclas Distillery
Glenfarclas remains one of Scotland's most quietly excellent distilleries, and this 17-year-old sits in a sweet spot between the approachable 15 and the more intense 21. Family-owned and sherry-matured from start to finish, it delivers the kind of depth that rewards patience.
Nose
Dried fruit dominates — raisin, fig, and stewed plum — layered with dark cocoa and a honeyed malt sweetness. Behind it all, a gentle waft of clove spice and old leather-bound books.
Palate
Buttery and full, with sherry-soaked dried fruit rolling across the tongue. The mid-palate reveals dark chocolate, walnut, and a touch of orange peel. There's weight here, but it carries itself lightly, with the oak influence contributing structure rather than tannin.
Finish
Medium-long, with lingering cocoa, dried fruit, and a pleasant earthy warmth that slowly fades into hazelnut.
- Region
- Speyside
- Cask Type
- Oloroso sherry butts and hogsheads
- Peat Level (PPM)
- Unpeated
- Distillation
- Copper pot stills, six stills total, direct-fired until 1981
- Maturation
- Exclusively Oloroso sherry casks from Jerez, Spain
- Chill-Filtered
- No
Cocktail Suggestion
Speyside Rob Roy — 2 oz Glenfarclas 17 · 1 oz Cocchi Vermouth di Torino · 2 dashes Angostura bitters · Stir with ice, strain into a coupe, garnish with a brandied cherry.
Food Pairing
Dark chocolate torte with candied orange peel
The Grant family has owned Glenfarclas since 1865 — six generations of independence on the slopes of Ben Rinnes, never once selling out to a conglomerate.
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