In May 1836 Glenfarclas Distillery was officially licenced for the first time, adding the designation “Distillery” to Rechlerich Farm. Therefore, May 2021 marks 185 years of legal distilling and Glenfarclas is celebrating the anniversary with a limited-edition bottling.

George Grant, sixth-generation family member and current Sales Director, said of the release:

“Due to my grandfather’s foresight, here at Glenfarclas, we are very fortunate to have casks in our dunnage warehouses from 8 different decades, from the 1950s to the 2020s. Some of our ware-houses even predate the 185th anniversary we are celebrating, as ‘uisge beatha’ was being made at Glenfarclas a good few years before a licence was held. To mark 185 legal years we have selected some of our finest casks from across the decades and put together a whisky with old, rich, sherried flavours that remain fresh and vibrant in your glass. Here’s to the next 185 years! Slàinte.”.

Glenfarclas means ‘Valley of the Green Grassland’ and the spring water, which ensures the verdant green grass, is essential to the distinct flavour of Glenfarclas Highland Single Malt Whisky. It bubbles up, crystal clear, from the underlying granite on the slopes of the Speyside mountain, Ben Rinnes, to supply the distillery below.

There, it is combined with the finest malted barley, twice distilled in traditional, direct-fired, copper pot stills and only the lightest and best fractions of alcohol are collected, two thirds to be filled into the finest Spanish Sherry oak casks and one third into plain oak casks in which to lie maturing over many years.

Times may have changed, but it’s what has stayed the same that makes Glenfarclas unique: the six generations of Grant family pride and the revered quality of their famous Glenfarclas Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky.