Bologna 2014

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SCOTLAND
To truly appreciate a good scotch, a man must have
an understanding of its rich history and process.
All countries have icons, none more so than
Scotland. Within its rich cultural heritage, whisky
has a proud place. The country and the drink are
synonymous.
This is hardly surprising as Scotland has become
known as the home of whisky. Its damp and cool
climate may not always be welcoming, but it is ideal
for producing two things that contribute to great
whisky: barley and peat.
It is no longer the only place that you can get
great whisky, and some people contend that
the Irish may have beaten Scots to the punch in
distilling it. However history is written by the winners
and it’s hard to dispute that whisky has delivered this
small country in Northern Europe a winning hand.
Exports of Scotch whisky were worth a record
£4.3 billion in 2012 and contributed about £1
billion to the UK Exchequer in taxes. Scotch
accounts for a quarter of UK food and drink exports
with 140 million cases exported worldwide to 200
different countries. A further 20 million casks lie
maturing in warehouses in Scotland.
There are 108 distilleries licensed to produce
Scotch whisky, employing 10,000
people directly and 35,000
indirectly across the UK. Whatever
way you look at it, Scotch whisky is a
massive success.
It’s no surprise then that the
description ‘Scotch whisky’ is
jealously guarded, and refers only to whisky that
has been made and matured in Scotland under
strictly defined conditions. Although Scotch whisky
has been produced for hundreds of years, the
actual definition of what constitutes Scotch is only
just over one hundred years old and dates back
to a court case in Islington London. The case was
brought by the local borough against two wine
and spirit merchants for selling a ‘Fine Old Scotch
Whisky’ that was “not of the nature, substance and
quality demanded” by the provisions
of the 1875 Food & Drugs Act. At a
time when grain whisky was in the
ascendant, the drink was composed
of 90% grain and 10% malt whisky.
Islington won the case despite the
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136 The Ultimate Book of Whisky
Glenfarclas
Glenfarclas is one of the few distilleries left that are
still family-owned and still have family members
working within the business. The Distillery has been
in the Grant family ( not to William Grant of Balvenie/
Glenfiddich) ownership for nearly 150 years and
despite numerous attempts by bigger companies
to purchase the distillery they remain fiercely
independent. They uphold an unfaltering big rich
house-style, very rarely stray from their traditional
roots and currently produce around 3.5 million litres
of spirit in some of the largest stills in Scotland.
The distillery has long been famous for its heavily
sherried house style of whisky. Only a small handful
of distilleries are as committed to this style these days
and even fewer deliver it as flawlessly. Two main
types of Sherry cask cask are filled at Glenfarclas ex
Oloroso and Fino both from Seveille in Spain. But
even with a very traditional style of whisky Glenfarclas
are still capable of innovation, in 1968 they were the
very first distillery to commercially release a whisky at
cask strength.
The core range consists of 10, 15, 21, 25, 30, 40
years old. There’s also the 105 cask strength, a 17
year old which is available in the U.S and Japan and
an 18 year old available in travel retail
Very few distilleries have a core-range that can show
off their spirit right through from 10yo to 40yo, with
almost every age in between. But their range doesn’t
stop there, Glenfarclas have another series called the
Family Casks. The Family Casks series is unique and
can show off some of the distilleries oldest whisky, with
bottlings available from every year between 1952 and
1996,all bottled as single casks and at cask strength.
Add to this range a string of anniversary bottlings and
the occasional limited release and you have the most
incredible range of any distillery in the world.
This wealth of maturing stock is unique and you
won’t find this library of bottlings from any other
distillery. Independent bottlings have been available
in the past but they aren’t easy to come by, especially
as they’re usually under a different name and won’t
carry Glenfarclas anywhere on the label.
Glenfarclas 15yo 43%
Soft and silky but not without a little bite, notes of sweet spicy fruit and
butter-scotch combine with red grape and a hint of peat.
Region: Speyside ✮ Style: Single Malt
Glenfarclas 105
This whisky bursts with a fruity intensity
that almost knocks you back, as it holds
onto your palate it grows with sweetness
and delivers an explosion of grapey fruit
and spice along with golden syrup.
Region: Speyside ✮ Style: Single Malt
Glenfaclas 21yo
Soft and complex but with lighter
flavours than the 15yo, baked apples
scattered with chocolate covered
raisins, vanilla and ginger bread
Region: Speyside ✮ Style: Single Malt
136 The Ultimate Book of Whisky
Kentucky, USA 137
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