Any fan of Scotch whisky will know that Speyside is the most prolific region with over 50 operational distilleries and a rich history of illicit distilling thanks to the rolling hills and glens that kept such practices hidden.
While there’s many big name brands, one that is still family owned - and with a rich history of innovation and reinvestment - is Glenfarclas. Some might say it’s underrated, but it’s a must-visit for those that love a sherry cask whisky. And even more so now, if you’re in the market for a very special buy as the team have just introduced a limited run of a 70 year old whisky - the oldest expression of Glenfarclas to date.
Glenfarclas Distillery was first licensed in 1836, and the Grant family has been producing whisky since 1865. During the whisky downturn in the 80s and 90s when distilleries were being closed down, Glenfarclas built more warehouses and kept the stills running, meaning there’s an abundance of aged stock including the family casks series.
The release of the 70 year old whisky is a milestone moment for the Grant family and the wider team at the picturesque distillery, which forms one of many on Speyside’s Malt Whisky Trail.
Matured in the distillery’s traditional dunnage warehouses, this whisky was laid down in first-fill sherry casks. The whisky has been overseen by six distillery managers over the past seventy years and will now be available to purchase internationally.
As you can imagine, given the age of the whisky, it is an exceptionally rare Glenfarclas. When it was distilled back in 1953, the malt barn would have been a hive of activity at the heart of the distillery, with barley being hand-turned on the malting floors.
Today the old malt barn has been re-purposed as the tun room. This whisky comes from one of the few remaining casks of this era and was made using barley that was malted at the distillery - something which doesn’t happen now.
Therefore it was a pleasure and a privilege to be one of the first outside the team to try this 70 year old whisky, in the warehouse where it has been matured for all those years.
For the tasting we were joined by John Grant, chairman and fifth generation of the Grant family to have owned and run Glenfarclas distillery and Callum A. Fraser, distillery manager at Glenfarclas.
The whisky, a deep amber colour, smelled very fruity - like stewed apples - with spices and a hint of treacle. On the palette there’s a wonderful freshness and minty flavour mixed in with the rich Christmas cake elements from the sherry cask. It’s not dry or overly woody and it has a robust, oily mouthfeel.
Mr Grant, who was trying the whisky for the first time with us, said: “As chairman of a family-owned distillery I am committed to overseeing the production of our exceptional malt whisky, just as my forefathers did before me. We take great pride in maintaining complete control over every aspect of production, preserving our time-honoured traditional methods - most notably, the use of direct-fired stills, which creates a robust and full-bodied spirit.
“Remarkably, this particular cask has been maturing almost as long as I’ve been alive. Releasing it now marks a true milestone, and one that Callum and I have considered carefully and with great respect for its legacy.”
Mr Fraser added: “This is true Glenfarclas and this expression captures the very DNA of the distillery. What we did 30 or 40 or even 70 years ago is very much what we still do today. The warehouses are still here, holding decades of stories in their walls. At the heart of it all, tradition remains key.
“This whisky has waited seventy years to be enjoyed. Through wars, the reign of a queen and now a king, the world has changed — but this spirit has endured, and it stands as a rare and timeless testament to patience and craft.”
The whisky, which comes in a bright red box that has been made to look like the signature warehouse doors at the distillery looks like every other bottle of Glefarclas, in that there’s no fancy label or over the top packaging. “What we wanted was for the liquid to speak for itself” explained Mr Fraser.
Only 262 bottles of the Glenfarclas 70-Year-Old will be available globally from June 2025 through a select network of specialist retailers in over 50 markets. The recommended retail price is £20,000 (UK), subject to regional variations.
