Relatively affordable ✔️ Cask Strength ✔️ Age Statement ✔️ Sherry ✔️
Glenfarclas 12 Cask Strength (Batch 4) / 57.6% ABV / ¥11,200 (~$100)
Tasted neat / with some bottled mineral water
This is the fourth installment of Glenfarclas’s Japan Exclusive 12 Year Old Cask Strength release; this year the packaging has been revamped to include a more glorious blue and gold motif on the label.
All we know is that it’s 12 years old, cask strength, and we can guess probably not coloured or chill-filtered.
- Color: tawny (1.4)
- Nose: dark rum, turpentine, pine needles, salt caramel, sliced apples, sherry; a little floral notes
- Taste: brown sugar, beef jerky, oloroso sherry, and lemon; minerality, pineapple, green apple
- Finish: long, sweetness, a little black pepper, and oak; campfire smoke
While whisky has gotten more expensive, this is still a relatively affordable competitor in the young sherried category (Macallan 12 Sherry Oak is ¥12,950) and I think Glenfarclas has done a good job putting together a cask-strength option at this price point. Really only Arran Sherry Cask, which is NAS but delicious, punches close at ¥9,750.
There’s a lot more complexity than you’ll get from most of its competitors, and some lovely fruity/floral notes in this batch. The downside is that these releases are Japan-exclusive (why?!) and limited, they will and do regularly sell out until the next batch arrives.
If you live in Japan, this is still relatively available to purchase. Mukawa has 6 bottles at regular price and 1 bottle with a defective label 10% off.
Rating: 6/10
