2003 Glenfarclas The Family Casks Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch Whisky (700ml)

New Family Cask bottlings arrive at remarkable direct import prices.

According to the lads at whiskyfun, the 2003 is a genuine Sherry Monster. The gorgeous deep copper / topaz colour says it all. This gem was drawn from cask No.2 (a sherry butt) in Summer 2018 yielding 649 bottles at natural strength. Snap it up!

Other reviews... Colour: teak. Nose: cherry flavoured cough medicine, rye bread, cinnamon bark, dried geraniums, tar extract. Quite a departure from the previous ones. A big, emphatic sooty earthiness, soy sauce, peppered beef jerky, turmeric and even some farmy hints of bailed hay and straw. Quite impressive. In time there’s also crispy bacon and boot polish. With water: not a huge sea change. More of a gentle drift towards strawberry jam, a little mocha, plum crumble and darjeeling tea. The earthiness takes on a fibrous edge as well - almost like old rope and hessian cloth. Mouth: cherry liqueurs, spiced cassis, star anise, five spice, strong miso broth, young madeira, clotted cream with strawberries and red current puree. There’s also these big, intense herbal notes such that nod towards Jägermeister and Unicum. With water: cherry cola syrup, birch beer, lime cordial, dates, prune juice, walnut liqueur, various shades of dried herbs. The meatiness is still present but it’s more muttony now. Finish: long, deeply earthy and treading a tightrope between bitter herbal extracts, dry earth, black pepper, strong dark teas and chocolate. Rather impressively it never manages to succumb too far in any one direction but keeps its head. Comments: Impressive I have to say. It lacked the woodiness of the 02 and possessed something more complex, charming and a few more interesting shades of fruit, enough to propel it into another league in my book. An excellent sherry monster and a perfect one to finish this marathon run of Family Casks on. 90 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.”