Glenfarclas 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Glenfarclas 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky

The Glenfarclas distillery is a family business in its truest sense, having been in the hands of the Grant family for 6 generations. The distillery, which started its operations before 1791 and was first granted a license in 1836, was bought by John Grant in 1865. Grant, a well-known cattle breeder, first leased the distillery to his distant cousin John Smith. When Smith left in 1870 to start the Cragganmore distillery, John's son George took over. In 1890 George died only a year after his father, and left the distillery to his widow and two sons, John and George. George's sons, George S. Grant and John P. Grant incorporated Glenfarclas as a private limited company in 1947, and a few years later George was appointed the chairman of the company, staying at the helm for 52 years. The early years of George's tenure were marked by rapid growth and expansion, with the production doubling due to high demand from blenders. In the late 1960s, demand for whisky started to decline, and Glenfarclas lost its biggest client. George made the wise decision to put aside more stock for the distillery's own bottling instead of relying heavily on the demand from blenders. This resulted in the distillery now having an abundance of aged stock, and their warehouses currently hold casks of the past seven decades. Now the distillery is run by the 5th and 6th generation of the family, still faithful to the vision of creating the finest Highland single malt whisky in the Speyside way. With over 150 years of experience in the family, the distillery produces a traditional Highland malt with a heavy sherry influence using artisan methods handed down through generations. Glenfarclas is one of the few distilleries using direct fired stills. The six stills at Glenfarclas are the biggest in Speyside. The spirit is distilled twice before being put in casks, which are kept in traditional dunnage warehouses. Glenfarclas's 12-year expression is aged in the finest European oak casks used once for Oloroso sherry, which are personally picked by John Grant at a family-owned bodega in Spain. This multi-award winning expression, bottled at 43% ABV, is an excellent introduction to the distillery style for those who enjoy a sherried whisky.