A coastal and peaty single malt, the flagship expression from Clynelish boasts a fabulous flavour profile filled with its distinctive waxy notes. Clynelish is the successor to Brora which closed in 1983, which it is built opposite. A well rounded Highlander, though this expression is a bit less peaty than the Brora bottlings of yore.
Zesty, mandarin, tangerine. Smoky.
Quite light, great clarity. Orange, soft acidity. Dry oak. Mixed fruits, vanilla, leather.
Quite long, bitter sweetness developing, spicy oak.
Hard to place as it is a mix of so many lovely flavours and influences. Not as well known or celebrated as many brands, but well worth investigating. Dry, fruity and warming.
An interesting nose in that you can pick out all sorts. Have a whiff and you get a note, have another whiff and you find something else. Very complex on the nose. On the palate I immediately get creaminess and a lovely mouth-feel. It's oily, briney, orange peel, cedarwood and some kind of green ginger/galangal thing going on too. I did think the finish was pretty short though, in comparison to say Caol Ila 12 and Bunnahabain 12 - both of which love. Clynelish 14 is quality stuff though and probably not one of the more immediate ones that jump out from the shelf. Well worth a go.
My mother is a lover of certain types of alcohol, especially malt whiskey. My dad would drink anything that has a percentage but my mother is more refined. She used to get bottles of whiskey from obscure places when my brother was working all over Scotland, so I needed to find a good one for their Christmas present. I noticed a regular comment about Clynelish being the base of the green label. Hence the purchase and the seal of approval by my mother.
At USD $50, it's an excellent value -- and a lucky selection among dozens of I-never-heard-o-that-one bottles in a Wilmington, Delaware wine shop. Now, I'm even more determined to taste every never-heard-of-that-one offering of distilled cold barley soup from north of the Tweed. Well done! So many distillers, so little time.
An excellent malt, especially at this price. Upon trying this on a blind taste test , I guessed it was highland and coastal, and this is all assertained through the nose. The taste is somewhat salty, and i totally appreciate the leather comments. But the flavours go on and on, which is special in a 14 year old. Well balanced yet bold, this is certainly a malt that you would price at £70 plus.
