Glenfarclas launches The Family Casks
A unique collection of 43 Single Cask
whiskies, with one for each year from
1952 to 1994.
Speyside, September 2007
– Family owned Glenfarclas Distillery
formally launched The Family Casks, an
exclusive collection of 43 vintage dated
Single Cask Highland Malt Scotch
Whiskies, at the Caledonian Club,
London, on the 13th September 2007.
The Glenfarclas Distillery, with over
52000 casks currently maturing in its
traditional dunnage warehouses, is in
the enviable position of having stock in
cask from every year from 1952 to the
current day. The Family Casks is a
collection of the best single casks from
the distillery’s warehouses, bottled at
cask strength and at natural colour. The
collection comprises 43 different
bottlings, with one for each year from
1952 to 1994. The Family Casks are
unique there is no other known
collection of old and rare whiskies that
covers 43 consecutive years from the
same distillery.
Glenfarclas is renowned for producing
Single Malt in a traditional Speyside
style with a heavy sherry influence.
Sherry casks are well represented within
the collection. As John L.S. Grant,
Chairman and 5th generation of the
family that own and manage Glenfarclas,
explained, ‘Good wood is vital in
maturation, and the resulting richness
and sweetness from sherry casks is
delightful’.
 Unlike mainstream bottlings, which are
normally offered at a reduced strength
of 40% vol., The Family Casks have been
bottled at cask strength. During
maturation the strength of the whisky
reduces slowly, thanks to ‘the angel’s
share’. Cask strength is the natural
strength after maturation, hence each
bottle in the collection is presented at
a different strength, varying from 46.0%
vol. for Cask 4913 from 1961 to 65.1%
vol. for Cask 1316 from 1968.
Glenfarclas was the first to market a
cask strength whisky, with the
Glenfarclas ‘105’ at 60% vol. in 1968.
The Family Casks have also been bottled
at natural colour, with the bespoke
clear flint bottle, and oak gift box,
designed to highlight the variety of
colours within the collection.
Accompanying each
bottle is a booklet with a history of
the distillery, written by John L.S.
Grant, and tasting notes prepared by
George S. Grant, Brand Ambassador, and
the 6th generation of the family.
At the remarkable tasting guests were
first introduced, by John L.S. Grant, to
a selection from the range, with one
dram from each of the five decades
represented. As Mr Grant explained ‘By
tasting a selection of whiskies from The
Family Casks, one is able to explore not
only the differences between the casks,
but the distillery, and my family’s
history’. After the formal tasting
guests were invited to sample a
selection of the other 38 whiskies from
the collection. Not surprisingly, many
of those younger than 56 chose to sample
Glenfarclas distilled during the year of
their birth. As Robert Ransom, Director
of Sales & Marketing, observed, ‘If you
know anyone who was born, or married, in
the last 55 years, a bottle from The
Family Casks collection makes an ideal
present for them!’.
Glenfarclas, which was named Distiller
of the Year in 2006 by Whisky Magazine,
focus on Single Highland Malt Scotch
Whisky, with a core range which includes
the 10 Years Old, 15 Years Old, 21 Years
Old, 25 Years Old, 30 Years Old and the
‘105’ Cask strength. The Family Casks is
the first new release of Glenfarclas in
the UK, since the 50 Years Old in 2005.
As George S. Grant commented, ‘To launch
43 single casks at once must be a first.
It has been a big project for us, and
almost everybody in the company has been
involved with this release. We have
however had a lot of fun, looking
through our warehouses to select a cask
from each year for The Family Casks was
particularly enjoyable’.
Prices for The Family Casks vary from
£80 for the 1994 to £1145 for the 1952
at the distillery’s visitor centre but
these prices are sure to rise the rarer
the bottlings become.
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