The Ballindaloch distillery has gained an excellent reputation among the connaisseurs and it’s one of the very few still owned by a family and not by a corporation: John Grant bought it in 1865 and his descendents are still owners and managers. After several bottlings tasted – as the mind-blowing 40 yo – today we go back to the entry level, the 10 yo.
N: fresh and fruity, with apples leading the troops. The sherried notes are not very intense, but really pleasant (raisins, canned peaches), even if the alcohol tents to overwhelm them. Vanilla, milk chocolate and orange liqueur. The malt – delicate and sweet – is undoubtedly Glenfarclas, but those pungent and alcoholic notes are not encouraging…
P: …on the contrary, on the palate is a pleasant and discrete “daily dram”. There’s no flavours flare-ups but a shy touch of red berries and nuts (hazelnuts). Red apples again and a bit of chocolate. Shame about that alcoholic burst, which overcomes the delightful but delicate flavours of the spirit, making the tasting experience a bit too rough.
F: quite long and persistent, and that’s a nice surprise. Still very fruity (apples, red berries) and chocolaty.
A daily, aperitif dram: but are you sure you can’t find anything better for your lonely days? A classic entry-level Glenfarclas, sure, but we continue to believe that the best expressions of this distillery are the cask strength single casks. Matter of taste… Serge’s thoughts are here, for us it’s a 81/100.
Recommended soundtrack: Caribou – Odessa.
