
December 28, 2016

Clynelish 1997, 1995, and, ach, 1965

We couldn’t end this year without a few more Clynelishes, could we?

Clynelish 18 yo 1997/2016 (48.4%, Douglas Laing, Old Particular, refill hogshead)

Not too sure about either the actual ref (I’ve got OLD0255) or the outturn, but I know that this baby was bottled in August 2016. Colour: gold. Nose: it’s got rather more oak than others, and even a bourbony feel at first, but gooseberries, green plums and other acidic fruits are soon to take over, and that would include lemons indeed, while very little wax or other oily/greasy elements are detectable. So it’s a rather zesty Clynelish. Mouth: bright and sharp, tart, with a gangue of vanilla sponge cake. Perhaps one or two raisins that would suggest refill sherry, but it doesn’t seem like sherry. Also ginger biscuits and cinnamon cake, as well as touches of soft pepper. Once again, not a very waxy Clynelish. Finish: long, rather on some spicy lemon pie, I’d say. Liquorice in the aftertaste. Comments: at some point you could think it’s very lightly sherried Highland Park. SGP:551 - 86 points.

Clynelish 21 yo 1995/2016 (49.9%, Maltbarn, bourbon, 169 bottles)

Colour: straw. Nose: ah wax, oh roots and branches, ah clay, mud, and chalk, oh gentian and celeriac… Strictly nothing to complain about! Perfect earthy/waxy style, very fresh and extremely engaging (provided you enjoy earthy/waxy malts). Mouth: perfect indeed, and even a little unusual, for it starts with hints of rose jelly and litchis. But where do those come from? A totally modern-Clynelishy development after that, with waxy lemons and earthy/mossy herbs. Very well chiselled, as they ay in Toledo (S.! - whatever). Finish: long, more or less on a blend of gentian eau-de-vie and limoncello, 50-50. I’ll have to try that one day. Comments: another rather sublime Clynelish. Right up my valley! I mean, my alley. SGP:562 - 90 points.

Look, why not jump over the years and try one Clynelish that was distilled 30 years before? That’s right, in 1965?

Clynelish 20 yo 1965/1985 (46%, Cadenhead, black dumpy)

A rather rare bottle I had in my stash before some young marginally inebriated Scot did let it fall – and break – on the floor earlier this year after having just opened it. And yes that young Scot is still alive, because by sheer luck, I had just taken a wee sample of it for due reference, and that’s the sample we’ll try today. I’ll add that I had first planned to bring this bottle to a tasting session (some call that a masterclass!) that I’ll do with my Turckheimer friend Olivier Humbrecht in Glasgow on February the 19th, at The Whisky Show: Old and Rare. That’ll probably be the only tasting session I’ll do next year, little time for those things. Or perhaps only one or two in Paris, I’ll see. Anyway, this is indeed ‘Old’ Clynelish, so yes, a Brora before Brora.

Colour: straw. Nose: sweet Vishnu! This nose is ridden with metallic notes, from that old toolbox to this even older pile of empty oilcans, from Veedol to Motul. This is exceptional indeed, especially since everything that happens after that very garage-y opening is totally and brilliantly Old-Clynelish, with citrons and grapefruits, seaweed, fresh concrete and paint, plasticine, bandages, lime juice, dead leaves, moss, soot, a lot of shoe polish, mushrooms, and, yeah, tah-dah, our friends the wet dogs! Very sorry indeed, dogs! Mouth: sweet Mary and Joseph, this is the exact definition of a true old-school Highlander. Basically, the balance between the citrus and the petroly waxes is just perfect. But if you need more details, I’ll happily mention pomelos, chalk, plasticine, bitter oranges, natural rubber (bands), ink, soot, earth, roots, cigar ashes, olive brine… And old papers, dry tobacco, capers, a touch of dry oak… But I’d better stop now, the list of flavours would be endless and this note would start to resemble a book by Dostoyevsky. Length-wise, not quality-wise, obviously. Finish: perhaps not extraordinarily long, but just magnificently ashy and sooty. Comments: I’d add that the style of most of these old black dumpies – because yes they all share a kind of sootiness in my experience – goes perfectly well with Old Clynelish. Shoo, straight into WF’s hall of fame! SGP:363 - 96 points.

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

Pete McPeat and Jack Washback