Clynelish 10 yo 2011/2022 (59.5%, Watt Whisky, bourbon barrel, 210 bottles)
You may or may not be aware, but the varying colours on the Watt Whisky labels relate to the colours that Mark 'smells' in the whisky. This is not quite as outlandish as it sounds, I have similar impressions sometimes when nosing whiskies. Anyway, Mark smells a soft shade of blue on this occasion apparently, does that mean we should anticipate a particularly coastal young Clynelish… Colour: bright straw. Nose: it's not a huge surprise, but I do find this pretty on the marine side of things, but also with various coastal shrubs, flowers and wee herbal notes. Also quite a bit of cut grass and bailed straw, very natural, fresh and organic, but not hugely on the waxy side of Clynelish. There's also some citrus vitamin tablets in mineral water and undercurrents of pineapple, lime and melon. Very attractive Clynelish that's on this distillery's gentler side. With water: more sea greens, rock pools, beach pebbles and touches of waxed canvas. Mouth: rather on linens and starches with the richness of cereals and putty arriving shortly after. Gets slightly sweeter with some limoncello and lemon barley water coming through. Just a glimmer of waxiness. With water: very nicely balanced with some milk stout beer and a little lemon cordial. Finish: medium in length and retaining a little peppery, waxy Clynelish character for the aftertaste, which is very pleasing. Comments: lovely, impeccable modern distillate, and indeed a 'bluish' coastal vibe throughout, just missing a little waxy Clynelish oomph here and there for my taste.
SGP: 551 - 87 points.

Clynelish 11 yo 2011/2022 (58.7%, The Whisky Exchange for The Whisky Show 2022, bourbon barrel, cask #800273)
Better late than never! Colour: bright straw. Nose: rather starchy and beery at first nosing, on putty, linens, some white pepper and yellow flowers. Grows in sweetness and feelings of barley sugars, lemon curd and malt extract. With water: citrus rinds, pebbles and dried flowers. Also a pineapple ring or two. Mouth: lovely collision of these heavier aspects like heather beers, flower honeys and pollen, but also wee coastal touches, mineral oils, softer waxes and dried herbs. Once again, on the lighter spectrum of waxiness for Clynelish, but still very good with plenty going on. With water: back on pollens, putties, strong green tea with lemon and matcha ice cream! Finish: good length, on tinned pineapple, heather ales once again and citrus curds. Wee hints of wax in the aftertaste. Comments: this Clynelish finds ways other than waxiness to be quite characterful. I couldn't tell you which one I preferred between this and the Watt Whisky bottling.
SGP: 561 - 87 points.

Clynelish 12 yo (58.5%, OB 'Special Releases', 2022)
I haven't bothered with the various other 'names' or stories or titles or whatever that goes along with these recent Special Releases. Colour: bright straw. Nose: sweet with a delicate waxiness and some saltier and more umami tones which feel like they emanate from the sherry. I find it perfectly fine, although a lighter take on Clynelish, so rather a Clynelish that is cosplaying as an Inchgower perhaps? With water: lighter, grassier, more citric and a little more to do with raw ingredient aromas such as cereals and wort. Also a little more classically waxy which is good. Mouth: jellybeans, pineapple, background waxes, yellow flowers, green fruits. Rather a good amount of 'stuff' happening, and these various sherried components are reasonably well integrated and not at all distracting. I suppose the only thing I'd say is it feels like the Clynelish DNA has been slightly dialed down. With water: putty, white pepper, more slightly pineapple-flavoured sweetness but also more Clynelish wax and fatness on display, as on the reduced nose. Finish: medium, a little too peppery and oak-spiced for me now, but some nicely waxy and grassy aspects too. Some teas and biscuity notes as well. Comments: all good and fine, it just feels a bit like a diet Clynelish. Clynelish Zero perhaps? Although that tag certainly couldn't be applied to the price… 
SGP: 561 - 84 points.

Clynelish 18 yo 1997/2016 (55.5%, Adelphi re-bottled to celebrate 20 years of Whiskyfun, cask #12378, 145 bottles, 2022)
A rather cool bottling by Adelphi to mark wee Whiskyfun's 20th birthday. For our 30th they have kindly agreed to do a 30yo Laphroaig, seeing as Serge already had his turn. Colour: straw. Nose: soft waxes overlaid with gentle orchard and tropical fruit notes, then various wee coastal inclusions such as beach pebbles, chalk and sandalwood. I also find it developing wee touches of dried mint and eucalyptus, along with a few medicinal herbal notes. Elegant and very charming! With water: dried heather flowers, plum eau de vie, tarragon and a slightly sooty waxy note - lovely! Mouth: drier than anticipated and wonderfully on pure waxes, peppery warmth, some pink sea salt, toasted fennel seed and impressions of oily toolbox rags, a little bigger and fatter than the very elegant nose suggested, and totally fab! With water: perfect gloopy, waxy, Clynelish goodness! Finish: long, peppery, perfectly waxy and still retaining these orchard and exotic fruity notes. Comments: unsurprising that the excellent team at Adelphi would select this, next to the very amusing magnifying glass (an allusion to the fact that Serge never stopped complaining – sarcastically - about the very small fonts on Adelphi's labels), you could also add a tag saying 'In case of Serge: break seal!'
SGP: 562 - 91 points.

Clynelish 26 yo 1995/2022 (51.5%, The Whisky Exchange, 50 years in the drinks industry, hogshead and sherry butt)
Bottled to celebrate the Sawhney family's 50 plus years in the drinks industry. Colour: gold. Nose: Clynelish and sherry can be tricky, but this fusion with a little leg up from the bourbon cask works very well. A big up front hit of waxes, shoe polish, mineral oils, chopped dates and furniture oils. Also preserved dark fruits, crystalised citrus chunks and lemon marmalade. Quite wonderful! With water: a salty sherry profile that retains a robust coastal quality, some salted liquorice, umami vibes such as mushroom powder and salted liquorice and then heather beer. Mouth: perfectly waxy, with various herbal and fruit teas, dried exotic fruit chunks, flower honey and aged mead. Beyond that rather a lot of camphor and hessian and other heavier, classical 'textural' Clynelish notes. With water: nicely fatty and thick in the mouth, waxy but also very nicely sooty, oily and full of putty, tobacco, rubbed lemon skins and even some hints of old Chartreuse. Still this very excellent and sharp salinity in the background that retains great freshness. Finish: long, lemony, waxy, salty and with these very nicely dunnagey, slightly musty but clean sherry notes. Comments: I love these wee small batch compositions where two rather different casks and one single distillate come together to create something greater than the sum of their parts, as has very much happened here. Great wee bottling and very fitting for family anniversary such as this.
SGP: 462 - 91 points.

Clynelish 28 yo 1993/2022 (54%, Hunter Laing 'Hepburn's Choice' for SCSM China, cask #HL18371, bourbon, 156 bottles)
I've tried a few 93s now and I generally find them really excellent I have to say. Colour: gold. Nose: this wonderfully thick and bright waxiness, a particular fusion of honeys, flower nectars and waxy notes that seems to arise in 90s Clynelish at this age. There's also some sweet ales and fresh breads in the background, along with sweeter herbal cough medicine notes. Beautiful! With water: more waxes but also hints of aged Sauternes, tinned pineapple and yellow Chartreuse. Mouth: excellent arrival, nicely powerful and peppery, with a big waxy vibe, some nicely sharp and controlled exotic fruit flavours centering around mango and pineapple, then herbal and fruit teas and more combinations of waxes and cough medicines. With water: getting a little mentholated, with slightly minty tobacco, hessian, olive oil, camphor and tea tree oil. Also more medicinal things like tiger balm and a really gloopy, textural waxiness. This one develops brilliantly with water! Finish: long, more herbal, more medicinal and very wonderfully heathery with sandalwood, mead and big camphor vibes in the aftertaste. Comments: another brilliant 90s Clynelish, although I maintain these 1993s have something quite specific about them that separates them from the 95s and 97s, which I think are all a little closer together stylistically.
SGP: 662 - 91 points.

Clynelish 1982/1995 (64.5%, Scotch Malt Whisky Society, #26.3)
Colour: deep amber. Nose: one of those scarce occasions where Clynelish + sherry not only works but sings. A wonderfully powerful mix of damp earths, teas, waxes, furniture oils and green walnut liqueurs. Also these deeply resinous and salty edges that incorporate the very best old dry Oloroso with abundant rancio and old hessian cloths. With water: green herbal liqueurs, walnut oils, ancient balsamic and tar liqueurs. Mouth: massive! A huge maelstrom of pure tars, hardwood saps, waxes, putty, aniseed, soy sauce and salted liquorice. More stunning old VORS sherry vibes, but here you could be adding Palo Cortado and Amontillado to the mix too. Deeply sappy, warming, spicy and salty. With water: some kind of aniseed cordial with huge notes of Irish Coffee liqueur, more tar resins and fir woods, camphor, waxes, the very best Iberico ham and salted almonds. Finish: long, very long in fact, tarry, waxy, deeply herbal and still riddled with these many impressions of pristinely salty and rancio-driven old sherries. Comments: a beautiful old beast of a Clynelish. Stunning sherry characteristics that still allow that Clynelish waxiness a clear voice. Quite mesmerising really.
SGP: 473 - 92 points.

Clynelish 15 yo 1982/1997 (57.7%, OB, Flora & Fauna Cask Strength)
Part of a generally highly esteemed and now rather obscure series of cask strength Flora & Fauna bottlings. They got a little overshadowed by the Rare Malts at the time as I recall. Colour: white wine. Nose: yes, classical early 1980s Clynelish, all on wet rocks, waxed lemon rinds, chalk and many lovely wee mineral touches. A feeling of superb fatness and texture about it - and of course: waxy! With water: even more vividly Clynelish, only with some greenery, pressed flowers, mineral oils and vase water. A touch of ale and bread too. Mouth: as expected, dry, peppery, waxy and nicely coastal with peppery watercress and green herbs. But it's not a monolithic style, like the Rare Malts could be, this is slightly more subtle with sheep wool oils and herbal infused olive oil impressions. Also some slightly bready and sandalwood notes. With water: fatter, sootier and greasier with white pepper, starched linens, tiny smoky touches, paraffin and linseed oil. Finish: long, peppery, waxy, lemony and still with some mechanically oily qualities and green herbal notes. Comments: a pure, rugged and no nonsense Clynelish that manages to balance power with clear distillery identity. I would say it needs water to really shine though.
SGP: 472 - 91 points.

Clynelish 36 yo 1971/2007 (51.5%, Murray McDavid, Mission, bourbon cask, 265 bottles)
There were many impressive releases in these early Mission series by Murray McDavid. Colour: gold. Nose: as expected, we have 'stuck beehive'! A full on and glorious melee of salted honeys, honeycomb, hessian and sweetened olive oil, with ointments, herbal extracts and putty in the background. All draped in a generous and rather luxurious waxiness. A singular and totally gorgeous aromatic profile that can only be described as: old Clynelish! With water: bergamot, cheng pi aged orange peels, tiny notes of clove, exotic hardwood sap and mustard powder. That ever-present honey/wax note too. Mouth: nicely resinous on the attack, wood oils, bergamot, more of these wonderful aged, salted and resinous honey qualities. Wormwood, tiger balms, tea tree oils and many subtle herbal details. Some ancient yellow Chartreuse mixed with 1940s Drambuie (someone Cocktail-ey please sort that out?)  It has a perfect balance of menthol aspects as well which incorporate Eucalyptus oils and mentholated tobaccos. Absolutely brilliant! With water: perfectly waxy and fat with yet more honeys, aged meads, camphor and herbal liqueurs and medicines. Resinous, coastal and still fantastically fresh and peppery. Finish: long, with a syrupy style of waxiness, tooth-coatingly fat, dried exotic fruits and herbal teas with yet more medicinal and liqueurish impressions. Comments: these vintages at this age were a style all to themselves in my view. As time goes by their luminous beauty and individuality on grows more distinctive and powerful. This is a benchmark example of that stunning old/new Clynelish profile.
SGP: 662 - 92 points.