Alt-a-Bhainne vs Glenfarclas

This is not an exact head-to-head of Alt-a-Bhainne versus Glenfarclas, but it is close. I tasted the Alt-a-Bhainne (which is predominantly used in Chivas blends, not bottled as a single malt) on two consecutive nights and then transitioned to the Glenfarclas on the second night for a comparison.

The Alt-a-Bhainne is a Duncan Taylor bottling from their NC2 (non-chill filltered, non-colored) line of single malts. It was distilled in 1992 and bottled as a 14 year old in 2007 at 46% ABV. (The distillery was closed from 2002 to 2005, but after an ownership change production restarted and was ramped up). The color is quite light, almost straw colored. It has a slight medicinal smell before any water is added, but otherwise it was difficult to detect anything. The taste is full, coating the tongue, and not overly strong. Once I added water I smelled a little bit of apple, but not much else. Despite my long time spent over this one, it left me disappointed. The nose doesn't develop very well and the taste, though full, doesn't evoke much.

The Glenfarclas is the distillery official bottling at 12 years old and 43% ABV. The first thing I noticed was the rich, gold color. The nose (un-diluted) has honey, toffee, maybe burnt sugar, and some peat. It tastes full bodied and coats the tongue well, though feels stronger than 43%. After water is added the nose develops more. Still honey and sherry (it is sherry-cask aged, after all), but now some flowers come out and what seemed like fondant/wedding cake. The nose is rich and full; the sherry rounds it out without overwhelming.

From my description I'm sure you've guessed that the Glenfarclas is the winner. Well worth the time to enjoy this malt. I've heard good things about Glenfarclas 105 (the cask-strength release), but haven't found a bottle yet.