The 12 year old bottling adds an additional two years of oloroso sherry cask maturation from the entry-level 10 year old, moving more towards a slightly heavier sherried style of whisky. It comes with a slightly higher ABV of 43%.
Nose: Warming sherried fruitiness. Light raisins and prunes sit alongside apple pie with a toffee custard.
Taste: Fruity and with a good level of sweetness. Toffee apples, demerara sugar, light dried fruits and a smattering of deeper coffee grounds and chocolate. Highly simplistic but highly effectively.
Finish: Short to medium with some white pepper spicing coming out to play.
Glenfarclas 12 year old does what it says on the tin. Entry-level, well priced and pretty tasty at that. You’re not going to be having any epiphanies here, but the fruity sweet sherried profile is very pleasant and very drinkable.