It's quite an honor when folk reach out to see if I'd like to review their book, whisky, or, sometimes, advent calendar. Such an honor, in fact, that it had me rebooting my whisky blog (now with more beer and probably mezcal!) in time for the first day of December. There are kinks to be worked out and archives to be filled but let's get to the reason we're here: Whisky Advent Calendars!
The good folk at Master of Malt have been having fun with spirits advent calendars for a few years now. This year they have rum, gin, bourbon, vodka, and several levels of whisky advent calendars. I'm honored to taste my way through the £125 "basic" offering.
It's finally time to swap out the horrid chocolate advent calendars of my youth for something a whole lot tastier. Behind window #1: Glenfarclas 25 Year Old, 43% alc., £90/$135.
C: Reflective copper
N: New bicycle tires (like on that racing bike you got for Xmas in 1988), dried orange peels, quite cakey
P: Cereal forward with a very pleasant maltiness, then a jamminess behind that, and some dark chocolate transitioning into the finish
F: Quite drying with dried dark fruits and hints of dark chocolate
In conclusion: Not as sherried as other Glenfarclas releases but still an extremely enjoyable dram and ideal for the season. It's hard to go wrong with Glenfarclas to begin with but what value for a 25 year old.
Sincere thanks to Master of Malt's Drinks By The Dram for the sample.