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  • Nick's Import

2002 Glenfarclas The Family Casks Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch Whisky (700ml)

Speyside, Highlands, SCOTLAND
$250. 00
Bottle
$3000.00 Dozen
ABV: 58%
New Family Cask bottlings arrive at remarkable direct import prices.

There's a beautiful deep sherry hue to this edition, suggesting some high quality oloroso butts were at play. Distilled in 2002, it's another Summer 2018 release from a Sherry butt that yielded 706 bottles at 58% Alc./Vol.

Other reviews... Colour: deep rosewood. Nose: hot strawberry jam, black coffee, burned nuts and also, underneath, a pretty heady mix of sawdust and pencil shavings. Some black grapes, wee hints of matchbox, rosemary and some pretty hefty meaty notes of Bovril and beef stock. With water: it’s funny how, even with this turbo charged sherry and high abv, it still develops in a kind of typical way with the addition of water. That is to say towards breads, golden syrups, sultanas, cinnamon and some rather intense herbal extracts. Things like tarragon stems and something almost like gentian root and dry earth. Mouth: as the nose would suggest this is a more aggressive style. Hot sandalwood, BBQ briquettes, pencil shavings, clove oil, liquorice, mint liqueur, cherry syrup and even some irn bru sweeties. Lots of black tea, bitter chocolate, strong espresso and pomegranate molasses. Pot pourri and grapefruit pith as well. Pretty intense stuff! With water: again the development is pretty typical. All roasted nuts, seeds, fruit cake, dates, prune eau de vie and cherry kirsch. Still some rather persistent tannins and pencil shaving notes nibbling around the edges. Finish: long but slightly on the bitter side, as expected. Some pretty dark chocolate, black tea, bitter herbal extracts and soot. Comments: Pleasure and pain in various interchanging measures. Another one that will delight sherry heads, but, for this wee taster, I’m afraid it just lacks a bit of balance. Also, I really think you can feel the difference between these younger, modern seasoned ‘sherry’ casks. Not that this is a bad one, just you feel the activity of the wood quite profoundly. 85 points - whiskyfun.com

The Family Cask Collection has become a minor phenomenon that magnetises buyers from the very finest bars and whisky shops around the globe. Commencing in 2007 as 43 single casks spanning five decades, George Grant speaks candidly about the collection that came about after a high profile rival (Macallan) released a similar range circa 2005, boasting only they had the inventory to pull it off. With six generations of family pride at stake, Grant launched his own liquid genealogy. An exercise in one-upmanship became an ongoing concern after a single bar in Japan purchased 178 bottles. 380 bottlings later, more than one collector has followed suit securing complete sets. Grant remains emphatic that these are for people who buy and drink whisky but concedes, “Whisky is now deemed as a safe investment. Look at the past 10 years and it outstrips everything – property, oil, you name it.”