Excellence marred by a huge price increase 😭
Glenfarclas 25 Cask Strength (Batch 1) / 52.2% ABV / ¥37,800
Tasted neat
This bottle is really batch 4 of the (discontinued) CS 21-year-old series for exclusive Japan release, but with the rebranding to blue-and-gold labels, they have dropped the 21 Year and replaced it with a more expensive 25 Year Old.
- Color: auburn (1.5)
- Nose: bright sherry, cigar smoke, leather, icing sugar, and honeysuckle
- Taste: sherry, tobacco, spice, rich oily oakiness, vanilla ice cream, and cantaloupe
- Finish: rich and long, with meaty barbecue fading into citrus zest
I think the extra four years did something here, this is a bit better than the 21 Year CS, but the price increase (nearly double) means that I will probably not be a regular purchaser.
This seems to be produced in more limited quantities; if you live in Japan, Mukawa still has one bottle.
Rating: 8/10