Glenfarclas 21 Year

Rating: 19/23 I've previously tried several other Glenfarclas bottlings, including the 17, 25, and Lismore 21 (likely Glenfarclas). The 17 and Lismore are excellent, but the 25 is mind-blowing. I'm hoping that this 21 is close enough to the 25 in quality to be an undiscovered even better bargain. N: Spicy, fruity (dried dark fruits with maybe a bit of orange) sherry with clear Glenfarclas funk coming through, bringing in complexity and a hint of meaty savoriness, though not so meaty that the alcohol starts to seem raw. Side by side, the 25 has a substantially richer nose with more dried fruit and chocolate (and somewhat reduced funk), but this is by no means weak. There's some maltiness bordering on nuttiness at times and also a bit of tartness. The oloroso scent is balanced so perfectly in there that although I can tell there is an oloroso influence, fairly clearly, but I can't detect any lemon or other scent that would be a dead give away, revealing the nose directly. I get the impression that this is fairly well aged, though not super old. With the complexity and lightness in comparison with Glenfarclas 25, I would guess that it's substantially younger side by side. Compared with something like Dalwhinnie 15, this seems much older. So the nose seems in the right ballpark for the age. P: Spice, fruit, and malt. The spice gives it a bigger burn than I'd expect for this proof. Some tannins come in as well, helping to fill it out. The fruit is a bit tart at times and the profile is kind of balanced between tart and sweet. The fruit largely leans toward the raisin and sultana side and it blends nicely into a bit of chocolate. Some lemon does come out fairly routinely, along with a touch of mineral. It gets a little waxy, but not to Clynelish levels. There's that rich, funky savoriness throughout that's filled out by a bit of a toasty, nutty character. The funk has a little bit of charred, tar flavor mixed with some dark (80%?) chocolate. Spicy is the main descriptor I would use here though. And a bit too tart, perhaps. I get a big cinnamon, pepper, lemon character routinely that's a bit stronger than I'd like. With all of the spice, the 43% ABV is certainly sufficient. F: Spice with some waxy lemon bite are first on the finish. Some of the maltiness remains alongside a little bit of grass and a more faint layer of that usual funk. What lingers long into the finish though is a nuttiness that reminds me a bit of buckwheat. - Conclusion - The nose really blew me away. It seems. seriously competitive with Glenfarclas 25. The palate is still great, but it isn't on the same level, unfortunately. There's a lot going on here, but it tastes to me like there's perhaps a touch too much oloroso and a touch too little age. As for complexity though, this is Glenfarclas and it nails that dimension. Lismore 21 is smoother and fuller with more of a grassy malty flavor. The flavor here stand out more and there's more of that sherried fruit sweetness for sure, but there's also a tarter bite. I'd call these two competitive, but my gut reaction is that the Lismore is a hair better because it is more balanced and smooth. Glenfarclas 25 is tremendously smooth and decadent in comparison. It's so rich and full with sweet fruit and chocolate backed by that Glenfarclas funk. It's clearly substantially better than this is, though it does still have some tannins and bite to it. I'm shocked by how much of a difference those last 4 years make. The price jump from this up to Glenfarclas 25 is not so substantial that I would skimp and get the clearly inferior product. Neither is the gap in quality between this and Lismore 21 - even if I decided that this is the better spirit - so great that I would pay up for this over the Lismore. So I'd be happy to sip this if offered (and I'd be delighted to sniff the glass), but I won't be buying any myself. Based on the nose, I was sure that there was no way this could be lower than an 18. Well, I'm not looking at going lower than an 18, but I kind of thought that after I tried the palate I wouldn't be looking at an 18 at all either. The palate just isn't as rich and full as the nose led me to believe and there's more of a bite. This is far far from a bad expression, but the palate just doesn't live up to the nose. Most likely, I'll be going with an 18 or 19, but I can imagine a 20 if I decided that I'd underrated the Lismore 21 or that this was a bit better. If I come back and find the bite to be too much, I might drop this to a 17 as well. I did give the Glenfarclas 17 a 20, so I thought that this was likely to be at least that, but I think I must have overrated that one. Either that or this is a weird middle child. I eventually had a sip of this that I thought beat a side by side sip of the Lismore 21. Considering that, I think I'll call the two about even and give this a 19.

I have become a GF fan with the 10 and 12 both impressing. Quite a jump up pricewise however for a 21 yr scotch this is great value(if its good). Ok its good ....real good. It is not in the realm of other aged sherry heavyweights such as Glendronich and Macallen. That said I have become such a fan of the GF profile Im wanting to give this a fair shot.. Poured neat nose is restrained, time and a drop help it relax. This is quite similar to the 12 in notes with the candy fruits, oaky malt sugars and wispy smoke. Adds a bit of banana peel and some old baseball card gum. Palate is soft and supple delivery of balanced barrel tannins with sweet malt and singed brown sugar sprinkled pie crust. Dried dark fruits and bit of spice round it out. Finish is long and drying malt, heavy oak and quick fade fruits with some aged leather for good measure. This is not a powerhouse with deep dense flavors it is however a well integrated refined satisfying scotch. I don't think I would buy again at $139 as I don't see the major leap from the rest of the line. Head to head yeah Im sure it smokes the 10 and 12 but have them a month apart and this is harder to justify. I have no regrets buying though as its absolutely delicious. Its just if I spend higher$$ on whiskey I want to get something out of it, the GD 18 delivers that experience in spades. Overall a wonderful scotch that just doesn't wow me for price point.......91/100.....I may eat my words as I go through this bottle and raise the score time will tell. If you just want to see a 21 on your shelf you cant go wrong with GF

On the nose it has the signature toasty slightly burnt maltiness of Glenfarclas, but a lot more subdued then on younger expressions or the cask strenght version. There is lots of crisp sweet green apples and fresh honey here also. Maybe some raspberry too along with oakiness, gentle. I am hesitant to add water since it is low abv, 43%, also nothing on the bottle says it is un-chillfiltered nor natural colored i have to assume it is not. I am a not big waterer so i am not gonna add any. And yes this is noticable on the palate too. The arrival is great. It is bold, it is rich it is malty, but the developement does not shine here. It gets a little too thin to be honest. And the finish is unimpressive, it is light oak tanniness, with light maltiness. I am a little harsh on this probably but only because there is no reason for Glenfarclas to not to present it as an integrity bottling as Ralfy would say. The modern market and the modern palate of us, whisky drinkers is just over and bored of these inferior bottles that they are putting out. We pay a quite the amount for bottles these years, and they should at least deliver quality for the price! I would rather have the 105 version instead of this to be honest any day of the week. This expression is a sorry excuse of a 21 year old single malt.

It is the first time I have been able to try a whisky from the Glenfarclas distillery. A whisky tasting is always the perfect opportunity to discover new gems. I compared it to a whisky with a similar profile, i.e. the Glenfiddich 18. Nose - The Glenfarclas 21 is less full-bodied than the Glenfiddich 18, which would fool me in thinking this whisky was younger. Grassy and sherry notes dominate the nose, with added notes from (over)ripe fruit, oranges and citrus. Palate - Tasty and warming. The arrival is sour and slowly becomes more bitter and sweet. For an age statement of 21 years, I find the palate not particularly complex. Finish - The finish is dry, medium long and has a lingering taste of malt. The finish makes up for a lack in taste with predominantly sweet and earthy flavours. To be honest, I was a little disappointed by this whisky. Because of the reviews I read beforehand, I was hoping for a better and more consistent experience for the age statement. Tasty, but not a great success. "Tasty" : 3 stars | A cut above.

The nose on this dram jumps sharply out of the glass.. initially shiny, but let it breathe a little and it rewards you with rich malted barley and cider. Stick around long enough and bananas foster will slowly creep out from the background. Initial sip is sweet with thinned honey, but immediately evolves into deep malt, layered with white pepper and a wonderfully oily mouthfeel. Before you finish swallowing it does an encore, adding tobacco and more spice and making sure every tastebud was in on the action. Finish hangs around quite a while, which isn’t as complex as the palate of course, but delivers some sherry and barrel notes which should be expected after 21 years. You’ll read that some say they would just as soon have the 15, and for the price I see where they may come from (15 is great) but this 21 is easily the richer, more complex and delicious choice! It’s a pretty good price considering it’s a 21, and sipping elixer this old makes me feel fancy.

I was just given this bottle of Glenfarclas 21 for my birthday. What better way to usher in 2021 than with a 21 year old spirit in hand. With a fresh bottle pop, the nose provides clover honey and green apple. Over time, sumptuous caramel drizzles over bananas, which brings me back for several dessert-inspired whiffs. My first sip of Glenfarclas 21 has a bold initial sensation of white pepper, crisp tart apple and a notable salinity with subtle oak and tobacco in the distance. Over time, more of the ex-oloroso sherry cask and European oak spice flavours emerge. The finish is a long series of waves by the seaside; brine, a puff from an old wooden pipe, sweet grass and vanilla. Amidst a precise spicy tap dance on the tongue, this has a light, barely oily mouthfeel and gently dry finish. This dram is smooth and enjoyable to drink and evolves beautifully over time. 9/10