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.
Nose: Swirling light smokiness and warm citrus framed in a suede leather oakiness with threads of vanilla. Taste: a bold citrus and saltiness warming in a comforting smokiness with notes of candied tangerines. Finish: a long dry, light smokiness with a maritime saltiness parting with a soft oak and treacle treat. Lovely.
Nose, mouthfeel, arrival, developement; all great! But then you swallow and it theres just... not so much. Too bad, without the caramel and chill filtration it would be better I think. Why not just leave it out? Its already at a firm 46% I´m gonna search for an independent botteling of this. Cheers!
This is the whisky that taught me just how good Single Malt Scotch can be! Being from the US, most of my friends do not appreciate good whisky, mostly because they have never really tried any. One taste of Clynelish 14 yr old and they (like me) come to understand that there is a whole world of whisky worth exploring.
A very interesting and complex whisky at a bargain price considering it's bottled at 46%! I would say it tastes of caramel, salt, oranges and smoke. Notably fairly similar to some other maritime highland malts like Oban, but much MUCH better. If you like it I really suggest checking out Compass Box's blends as a lot of them are based on Clynelish.
I think the standard 14 yo Clynelish is like a hidden treasure. No one knows how good it is so I get to buy it inexpensively and enjoy the heck out of it. Shhhhh, let's keep this one to ourselves.
