A Fine Christmas Malt 17 Years Old (The Whisky Exchange)

I never copy and paste something from a press release, but I’m willing to make an exception this time around, if only because of the work the folk over at The Whisky Exchange put into it. It’d be shame not to share their Christmas poem:

For the nights before Christmas,
when snug in your house,
Or, carefully wrapped,
‘neath the tree for your spouse.
A Christmas Malt
that’s been selected with care,
From a Speyside distillery,
though we can’t tell you where.

It’s a Glenfarclas, that much is clear, especially as it was also described as being from a ‘canonical mystery family-owned distillery’. It matured for 17 years in oloroso sherry butts, and seems to be nicely priced at 75 pounds. Although, that all depends on the quality of the whisky, doesn’t it?

A Fine Christmas Malt 17 Years Old (58.7%, The Whisky Exchange, 2018)

Nose: Very sweet, almost overly so. It has a candy-esque veneer at first (it simmers down after a while), with plenty of fruit underneath. Warm apple sauce, oranges and raisins. There’s a hint of tobacco leaves that brings some balance.
Taste: After an initial creaminess, follows a pretty spicy arrival. Cracked peppercorns, cloves, chili. A hint of nougat and chocolate, as well as light caramel notes and a subtle flavour of bitter oranges.
Finish: A lingering fruitiness (citrus), with a hint of oaky bitterness and a subtle spiciness.

Score: 81

Sometimes a tad too sweet, other times too spicy. Not quite my whisky, although I can see why this was chosen as a Christmas whisky.

Sample provided by The Whisky Exchange

Thijs Klaverstijn

Thijs is a spirits writer and accredited liquorist from The Netherlands. He runs the blog Words of Whisky and contributes to a number of Dutch and international publications.