This is the best idea I've heard all year.

I want in this whisky fraternity should it come to fruition. I'm already imagining myself quoting the famous line from the cult classic Hollywood movie, Animal House..."Thank you, sir. May I have another?". Although in this instance it isn't in response to the repetitive paddling, but a response to...well, you probably get my drift.

Wait...if we have a whiskey club, we can get brand ambassadors to visit (and bring along tasty treats?). Entrepreneurial wheels are starting to churn...

That seems to be the most likely explanation... I will keep that question in mind, in case the brand ambassador visits our humble whisky club :-)

Well...heck if I know, then. They run a pretty good barrel program, so perhaps they use some more heavily charred casks for the 21 year?

If that smoky element comes from direct-fired stills, why is it not present in all Glenfarclas bottlings? Reading through lots of reviews, I got the impression this is a rather specific feature of the 21-year-old malt...

My bet's on the direct-fired stills; when I went on the tour at Glenfarclas in June 2016 (that's one of their stills in my profile pic), they told us about the time when the distillery tried to switch over to coil heating for the stills, and it was a disaster. The spirit tasted radically different and grossly inferior (in their view), so off came the coils the next day. They also mentioned that all of their water drains through a peat bog before getting to them, but I wouldn't think that would impart a smoky note since the peat's not being burned.

What I liked most about this 21-year-old Glenfarclas is that it tastes slightly different than their other bottlings... It's unlike the 12- and 15-year-old expression, being more fruity and last but not least there is this smoky/burned touch on the nose, that left me a bit confused. Peat? No. Direct-fired stills? Maybe? Or even coming from charred barrels?

Thanks! I generally feel like I get what I pay for with Glenfarclas, with the exception of the overpriced 105. Plus, as you said, their older expressions aren't sold at extortionary rates, which I admire since they *could* charge more if they wanted, and people would still buy bottles. They really live into the whole "whisky is for drinking" ethos, and I respect that. Cheers!

This will be my first malt to review in 2017 - looking forward to it! What I like about Glenfarclas, their 20+ years bottlings are still affordable compared to other distilleries. Nice review.