July 3, 2014

A sure bet, another three Clynelish from the mid-1990s

What’s to be added about Clynelish? One of the few characterful malts that need no sherry, no peat, no new oak, no vanilla, no coconut, no wine… All it needs is a glass, as they say.

Clynelish 16 yo 1997/2014 (46%, Signatory Vintage for The Bonding Dram, The Un-Chillfiltered Collection, hogshead, cask #4613, 320 bottles)

Colour: white wine. Nose: it’s a rather mineral one, quite earthy too, displaying a lovely combination of ‘old waxes’, humus, wet limestone and then grapefruit skin and touches of dill. It’s just a perfect whisky. Mouth: really excellent, hinting at the early 1980s rather than the mid-1990s, with even more citrus skins and juices than in the nose. Very zesty, tense, chiselled and err, nervous. A style that I love. No cask strength needed in this context in my opinion. Finish: long, a notch grassier. Comments: I truly am a huge fan of this style. B-F-Y-B. SGP:362 - 88 points.

Clynelish 1997/2012 (51.5%, The Whisky Mercenary, bourbon)

An older bottling that slipped through whiskyfun’s net. My bad. Colour: white wine. Nose: a rather rounder one, with more banana from the bourbon wood, more fruits, jellybeans, liquorice allsorts, then rather oranges. One of the fruitier Clynelishes from that era, but the mineral wax (or waxy minerals) remain just below the surface. With water: the farmy side comes out. Soaked barley? Mouth (neat): starts very lemony, with a little icing sugar as well, then some creamy all-flower honey as well as an engaging greenness (grass, tea). I also find notes of seashells and edible seaweed, Japanese style, then much more pepper and even peat. Very good. With water: great, a mezcaly side comes out. Smoked agaves, citrons… You may add half a marshmallow. Finish: long, ultra-clean and zesty. Comments: loved the peaty side in this one. Lots happening while it always remained elegant. SGP:463 - 88 points.

Clynelish 18 yo 1995/2014 (57.5%, Single Malts of Scotland, cask #10193, 265 bottles)

I think it’s no secret that the excellent folks at The Whisky Exchange / Specialty Drinks / Single Malts of Scotland are as much fans of Clynelish as I am. They’ve already had quite a few brilliant ones in the past. Colour: straw. Nose: amazing. This one sits right between the ‘fruity’ ones and the ‘austere’ ones, with the assets of both categories. Wax, paraffin, lemon, grapefruit, limestone, clay, earth, liquorice, menthol… I even find touches of myrtle, but maybe that’s because I’m about to fly to Corsica. With water: a Montrachet, really. Mouth (neat): really huge, a little pungent, with a kind of mix of wasabi with limejuice. In the background, a sweeter side (limoncello) and quite some pepper. A big beast! With water: just terribly impeccable. Wonderful bitterness, citrus, wax, drops of engine oil (not that I quaff that every day) and pepper. Finish: very long and quite spicy. Maybe a little bergamot (do you know the fabulous sweets called bergamotes de Nancy?) A little Demerara sugar in the aftertaste. Comments: the only flaw this one had is that it did not surprise me (pfff…). SGP:452 - 90 points.

Check the index of all Clynelish I've tasted so far