I bought a sizeable sample of this whisky upon being told this is Glenfarclas. Of course, with it being a blended malt, it’s most likely teaspooned, but there’s no guarantee it’s Glenfarclas. It could very well be, but where all undisclosed Speyside whiskies were once said to be ‘Farclas, that no longer holds true.

I’ve also seen comments of this being Macallan, but at 19 years old and actually affordable to mere mortals, that seems unlikely. Balvenie is also an option, but technically so are a lot of other Speyside distilleries.

Let’s just stick to ‘we don’t know’ for this one and just enjoy the booze!

Sniff:
With a color like this there’s no surprise to this offering huge sherry notes. There’s a slight spicy edge with cinnamon, clove and black pepper. Hints of sawdust, balsamic vinegar and stewed strawberries.

Sip:
Quite peppery, more so than I expected. Black pepper and some chilis, too. Baking spices and some bitter notes like almonds and cherry stones. Cherries, strawberries and that note of balsamic vinegar.

Swallow:
The finish is long and gentle, more focus on the red fruits and less so on the bitter notes.

It’s nice that Cooper’s Choice decided to bottle this at 44%. There’s a trend going on that everything seems to be bottled at high octane levels because that’s what’s cool. However, there’s so much more to be discovered when there’s a bit less focus on the alcohol.

I like the red fruits and balsamic notes. There’s no vineger like acidity, it’s more like a balsamic reduction. All in all rather good whisky, with lots of flavors.

88/100