Whisky : Glenfarclas 12 Year

Country/Region : Scotland/Speyside

ABV : 43%

Cask : Oloroso Sherry

Tasting : Neat in a glass while cruising in a United Flight at 35,000 ft. 

Nose : Unmistakable sweet honeycomb which slowly gave way to more floral notes such as lavender and lilac scented cosmetics — which is to say pungent and slightly artificial. Eventually the nose turned to breakfast; berries, honey, yogurt, and granola all heaped into a bowl.

Palate : The floral notes of lavender or elderflower took the stage at first accompanied by the juicy crisp sweetness of green apples. In fact the scotch became so sweet and sugary in my mouth that it felt as though someone snuck a packet of Splenda into it.

Finish : A quick sour tingle and then it was largely gone, only the faintest hint of cherry coke.

Score : 3

Mental Image : As children, my siblings and I, when given the rare opportunity, would sneak packets of Sweet and Low or Equal and add them to our Coke or Pepsi. Our concoction combined the fruity artificial kola flavoring and additional artificial sugar to create something so sweet that only a young sugar deprived child could truly find appealing.

Something Better : Aberlour 18 Year (more herbal complexity, less sweet, similar floral notes)

Something Similar : Balvenie 12 Year Double Wood (more green apple, more juicy sweetness)

Something Worse : Dewar’s White Label (more artificial sweetener, less complex, more herbal)

Notes : Tasting a whisky at 35,000ft. is definitely a different experience; the altitude plays some tricks on our taste buds such as drying out our sinuses and dampening our ability to taste sweet and salt. I think that may be why I did not pick up a lot of sherry notes on this aside from some fruitiness at the opening and a bit near the end of the finish which reminded me of the sort of artificial cherry in cherry coke. The scotch had more floral notes than I was expecting which may have come out more thanks to a suppression of sherried fruit or oak. I have a few extra bottles from the flight and it will be interesting to take them out one day and compare notes. Generally, I would say this is by far the best option for in-flight scotch I have seen, but not something I would go pick up on my own volition. It certainly beat the pants off the alternative on my flight: Dewars White Label. I think I will try just mixing up a highball with some soda water and lemon next time I have the opportunity and the means on a flight.