On Thursday, November 5, Club Mareva Beirut hosted one of the finest whisky tastings in our history, an evening dedicated to examining age and cask character through four carefully chosen Glenfarclas Family Casks. Twenty-five guests gathered for the tasting, which was presented by Kenny Abi Chedid, co-founder of Mareva Malt Mavericks, longtime friend of the house, dedicated whisky aficionado, and collector of bottles and casks. The evening explored how sherry influence evolves and how Glenfarclas’s distinctive spirit character emerges across different fill levels.
The four expressions tasted were:
2001 Family Cask, Cask 3762, Refill Hogshead, 54.7%, one of 194
2002 Family Cask, Cask 88, 4th Fill Sherry Hogshead, 58.9%, one of 231
2007 Family Cask, Cask 2670, Refill Sherry Butt, 59.9%, one of 620
2010 Family Cask, Cask 531, 1st Fill Oloroso Sherry Butt, 59.2%, one of 647
Together they traced a clear progression, from the bold, fruit-forward intensity of the first-fill Oloroso butt to the quieter, more spirit-driven character of the fourth-fill hogshead. Guests experienced firsthand how wood influence softens over successive fills while the underlying Glenfarclas DNA, rich, full-bodied, and deeply expressive, remains constant. The conversation was as engaging as the whiskies themselves, with Kenny guiding the group through the nuances of cask selection, maturation, and the remarkable depth of stock held by the Grant family, who have owned the distillery since 1865.
As a special treat, we opened a surprise bottle of the Glenfarclas Family Cask 2011, bottled in the summer of 2026. This expression comes from Cask 1254, a sherry hogshead that yielded just 276 bottles at a natural cask strength of 59.8 percent. Distilled in 2011 and bottled on 23 June 2026, it represents one of the more recent vintages in the Family Cask series and offered guests a vivid contrast to the older expressions tasted earlier in the night. At roughly fifteen years of age, the whisky already displays the concentrated character for which Glenfarclas is known. The sherry hogshead has imparted a deep colour and a powerful profile in which dark dried fruits, chocolate, and roasted nuts sit alongside the distillery’s robust malt, warming spices, and expressive oak. It is a classic example of how Glenfarclas spirit interacts with European oak sherry wood, delivering richness and structure even at a relatively youthful stage.
The decision to share this bottle was inspired by the exceptional ambiance of the evening. The room carried a rare energy of curiosity and camaraderie, and this additional cask provided the perfect final note, an intimate gesture of hospitality that captured the spirit of the night. For those present, it served as a reminder of the depth of stock still held by the Grant family and of the continued vitality of the Family Cask programme more than two decades after its launch.
Our friend Sami Achkar also opened the Glenfarclas 190th anniversary new release, adding a further highlight to an already memorable evening.
One bottle of the Family Cask 2008 Summer 2024 (Cask 2112, Plain Butt, 57.7%, one of 538) was given away during the evening. Congratulations to the draw winner, Marwan Al Zayyan.
It was a privilege to host such an appreciative group of guests. Evenings like this remind us why we continue to seek out the finest and most distinctive whiskies for Club Mareva Beirut. Thank you to everyone who joined us. We look forward to welcoming you again for the next memorable tasting.
