Half a dozen Clynelish


November 2, 2026

Half a dozen Clynelish

Perhaps you remember our solemn pledge: to taste Clynelish and Springbank at least once a month, every month. Well, today it’s Clynelish’s turn, with Springbank coming soon. We’ll pick them more or less at random, as I don’t think we have any really old vintages left in the pipeline. For now, at any rate.

(In Emmanuel Dron's stunning 12-kilo book 'Collecting Scotch Whisky', 2018)

Clynelish 13 yo 2013/2026 (48.8%, Whisky Picnic Bar, hogshead, cask #SR26024, 258 bottles)

I’m sure you couldn’t say it’s no picnic here, could you? (As you can see, my gift for cheap jokes is currently at its peak.) Colour: amber. Nose: strawberry liqueur! A refill red wine hoggie? Well, we rather doubt it, especially as it soon moves towards eucalyptus, fir buds, menthol and furniture polish. Rather unusual but very lovely, with the polish maintaining a connection with the distillate. If you like… Mouth: very rich, with pronounced propolis, echoing the fir buds on the nose and the wax. Then lemon marmalade, bitter orange zest and smoked oil, followed by fruit stones, kirsch… Finish: long, on glue and furniture polish, with yet another return of those fir buds. Comments: a rather unusual Clynelish, more full-bodied than the customary fruit-and-wax duets of other young expressions. These are the hardest to score, but when all’s said and done, it’s excellent…
SGP:361 - 86 points.

Clynelish 10 yo 2015/2026 (48.5%, Decadent Drinks, Equinox & Solstice, autumn release, refill hogshead, 361 bottles)

Colour: pale gold. Nose: fragrant, with roses, fruit sweets, marshmallows, barley sugar, ginger tonic, hairspray, lychees and, quite simply, Alsatian gewurztraminer. Not much wax this time. Mouth: more ‘Clynelish’ on the palate and less ‘Lowlands’, with lovely bitters, zests, more hints of propolis and lemon pepper. By the way, as you probably know, propolis is resin collected from conifers or other trees and mixed with beeswax. By the bees themselves, naturally. Finish: very close to the ‘Picnic’ here, just a little more lemony. Comments: a faint touch of gentian at the very end. Bang, another point.
SGP:451 - 86 points.

Clynelish 15 yo 2010/2026 (54.6%, The Single Malts of Scotland, Elixir Distillers for LMDW Collection Anthology, refill bourbon, cask # 800189, 185 bottles)

The bottle in the photograph says ‘From Speyside’, but that must be a mock-up. Or the result of slightly excessive consumption of their own products, which we can only understand, can’t we. Colour: gold. Nose: perhaps it’s the extra strength, but this time we’re almost entirely on orchard fruits, syrups, jellybeans, gooseberries, persimmons… It brings to mind those lovely Glencadams we tasted recently. Speyside indeed! With water: some fragrant wax emerges. Orange-blossom-scented candles. Mouth (neat): a mirror of the nose, fruits, fruit skins, stalks, stems, leaves (peach)… With water: apple tart, light IPA… Allow me to take this opportunity to lament the rising strength of modern IPAs. Soon they’ll be stronger than our whiskies. Almost. Finish: fairly long, fruity, closer to the DD E&S. Comments: I see no reason to give this baby a different score from the others.
SGP:551 - 86 points.

Clynelish 24 yo 2002/2025 (51.6%, Thompson Bros., Dornoch Castle, barrel, cask #SR26060, 143 bottles)

The Thompsons have a lot of Clynelish. We keep saying they can keep an eye on the distillery from their castle windows and, truth be told, they’ve never corrected us. Colour: full gold. Nose: the Clynelishness, expressed through beeswax but also pollen and honey, is much more pronounced here. Oranges, orange blossom and, above all, another Clynelish hallmark, mandarins, abound. How could we possibly object to that, I ask you? With water: a little tighter and grassier, but very prettily so. Mouth (neat): simply perfect. Still a tiny bit bitter and rough (Schweppes, Campari), but perfect. Especially as, alongside the citrus fruits, it becomes more mineral and almost salty. With water: I promise you there are even echoes of ‘Old’ Clynelish, so pre-Brora. Finish: fairly long, more bitter, but that’s to be expected. The fir buds return, along with something reminiscent of turpentine. Comments: actually, it isn’t entirely easy-going from start to finish, but for us it ticks almost every box. Then again, we are avowed and committed Clynelishophiles.
SGP:562 - 90 points.

We could still try to dig out a few slightly older vintages (rummage, rummage…)

Clynelish 18 yo 1998/2016 (54.8%, Signatory Vintage, Un-chillfiltered Collection, for Vinothek Massen, hogshead, cask #7782, 249 bottles)

A version for Luxembourg. We rather like these SV UCFs at cask strength. There’s something tautological, or at least delightfully unnecessary, about the ‘Un-chillfiltered’ mention. It’s charming and amusing, and allows us to add a few perfectly pointless comments at the beginning of a tasting note. Like, er, these… Colour: pale gold. Nose: narrow, taut, grassy, then more on cider apples and paraffin. Water should both wake it all up and soften it a little. With water: pure wax, church candles, modelling clay, linseed oil… Mouth (neat): very lively, lemony, bitter, powerful, but we can see light at the end of the tunnel. With water: and boom, here come the mandarins, with their zests and hints of angelica. Finish: long and decidedly waxy now. A little pear reminds us that when this baby was bottled, it was still a relatively young Clynelish. Slightly salty aftertaste. Comments: very, very lovely Clynelish. Surely, they weren’t going to chill-filter such a little beauty!
SGP:462 - 87 points.

One last one for today…

Clynelish 1996/2015 (56%, Berry Bros. & Rudd, cask #6423)

We love these replica/retro BB&R labels, the replica labels themselves having now become… retro. You follow us, don’t you? Aside from that, the sister casks were rather lovely. Colour: gold. Nose: this time we find that champagne/chablis side of some of these Clynelish vintages. Chalk, cider, fresh butter, lemon, mashed potatoes, a touch of wormwood… With water: we’re approaching a bakery early in the morning, still with butter, but also fresh bread and pastries. Mouth (neat): goodness, this is taut and powerful! No prisoners, as they say. With water: and there we have it, trumpets please, his majesty Clynelish. The propolis returns, the fruit stones, the waxes and, of course, the citrus fruits, especially the bitterest of them. Finish: long and austere, just as we like it. Green pepper comes along to deliver a few slaps right at the end. Comments: with a thought for Doug, another true Clynelish afficionado.
SGP:462 - 90 points.

Check the index of all Clynelish we've tasted