.clynelish - 1997 - waves of pepper - wemyss malts

It may be known that I am a big fan of Clynelish in general. The 1997 vintages of this distillery seems to be having a special place for me, as it the distillery have been doing things differently in that year, used different barley varieties or maybe experimented with yeast... We probably will never know, but one thing I am sure about; I like it.

46% abv, €85
single malt, non-chill filtered, natural colour

Nose: fresh, fruity, apples, sweet, honey, floral honeysuckle, a breeze of the sea, spicy, a hint of cinnamon, allspice

Palate: sweet, fruity, apples, warm apple sauce, creamy honey, floral, honeysuckle, spicy, white pepper, a hint of cinnamon

Finish: medium long, sweet, treacle, honeycomb
Mark: ++++/+

Conclusion: I should have brought a bottle when we were at the Kingsbarns distillery. This release has been bottled for the opening of the distillery in 2014, and only a handful of bottles are left.

More info: Distilled in 1997, matured in a hogshead and filled into 251 bottles in 2014, to commemorate the opening of the Kingsbarns distillery in Fife.

.clynelish - 18yo - the maltman

It is no secret I have a weak spot for a good Clynelish. Nice bloke by definition; Andrew Hart of the Maltman was so kind to send us some samples some time ago, one of which was this beauty.

.clynelish - 1997-2014 - cayenne cocoa bean - wemyss

The year 1997 seems to be a magical year for Clynelish. Wemyss has shared a beautiful sweet and spicy version of this year, that turns out to be a true headturner.

.clynelish - 1997 - 2011 distillers edition

46% abv, €50, single malt

Nose: sweet, vanilla, caramel, floral, violets, fruit, apples, pears, bananas, citrus, lime
Palate: sweet, caramel, floral, violets, fruit, pears, bananas, mango, spicy, green pepper
Finish: short, sweet, toffee, floral, violets, pears, bananas
Mark: ++++/+

Conclusion: Until not so long ago I was a firm believer that you could never go wrong with a Clynelish. But - possibly because the high availability in the independent bottler's market, we recently had two bad encounters in a row.
This official bottling however is one of the good girls. I would not hesitate to buy one when I would stumble upon it. Which is very likely, although it would probably from another distilling/ bottling year. Go for it!

More info: bought in the Clynelish store when we were there in 2012, believing this would not be available anywhere else. What we know now to be very untrue... next time we will do a tour and nag for a cask sample to bring home. That would be something unavailable anywhere else.

Distilled in 1997, matured in ex-Bourbon casks and finished in Oloroso Seco ex-Sherry casks for three-six months, prior to bottling in 2011. Or, as the lady in the distillery told us "as long as it needed".

(reading it after I just jotted down the separate notes, this is ridiculously well balanced...)

.clynelish - 1997 - 15yo - the whisky cask

55,5% abv, €65, single malt, non-chill filtered, natural colour

Nose: sweet, caramel, fruit, green apples
Palate: sweet, caramel, apples, white pepper
Finish: dry, long and unpleasant, sour, a hint of sweetness
Mark: +/++++

Conclusion: Again, nothing fancy. Too bad, because I am a big fan of the Clynelish products and had high expectations. This might just be a victim of an independent bottler stuck with an old and worn down cask.

More info: Distilled in 1997, matured in an ex-Bourbon cask, bottled in 2013.

.clynelish - 1995 - 17yo - yves boode

45,2% abv, €65, single malt, non-chill filtered, natural colour, single cask

Nose: sweet, vanilla, fruits, unripe apples, sour white grapes
Palate: sour grapes, white pepper, that's it really...
Finish: sour grapes, short, thankfully short
Mark: +++++

Conclusion: Not the best Clynelish I have ever tasted. She is "a bit" sour that overpowers the normally gentle and fruity character of the distillery. My statement that you can not go wrong with a Clynelish is herewith negated.

More info: whisky shop Yves Boode has - together with importer Bresser and Timmer - imported a series of whiskies bottled by A.D Rattray. This series, called The Specialists' Choice. All of these are single casks, natural colour and non-chill filtered.

Distilled in 1995, matured in a refill ex-Bourbon cask, bottled in 2013 into 285 bottles.

.clynelish - 1996-2013 - TWE

56,1% abv, €??, single malt, non-chill filtered, natural colour,

No tasting notes, tasted at Maltstock 2013, during the Whisky Exchange's Masterclass

Mark: +++/++

.clynelish - 14

.clynelish 14

abv: 40%
type: single malt
fles: 70cl, €30,-
filtratie: onbekend, wel waarschijnlijk
karamel E150a: onbekend, wel waarschijnlijk

neus: scherpe alcohol, fruit, peren, zoete rode appels, tumtum
smaak: zacht, fris-zoet als rijpe druiven
afdronk: eerst rustig, na een paar seconden bijt ze je even achter in de tong, om te laten weten dat ze aanwezig is
score: ++++

conclusie: mooie, zachte, rustige dram. Een betaalbare aanrader voor de beginnende whisky drinker, maar zeker voor de meer ervaren drinker ook de moeite waard.

Ik kom de vrij onbekende Clynelish niet veel tegen bij de gemiddelde drankhandel en heb haar aangeschaft in een uitverkoop, omdat men met de voorraad bleef zitten. Ik heb haar inmiddels al even in huis en was vanaf het begin redelijk van haar charmes onder de indruk. Ook mijn gasten zijn eigenlijk altijd direct (positief) verrast zodra ik hen een dram voorzet.
De Clynelish distilleerderij ligt in het hoge noorden van de highlands van Schotland. De huidige distilleerderij is als uitbreiding gebouwd op 100 meter afstand van de oude distilleerderij, met de bedoeling de oude af te breken. Door een tekort aan geturfde Islay whisky's voor de Johnnie Walker blends eind jaren '60, is de oude distilleerderij weer opgestart en omgedoopt tot de inmiddels roem-ruchte Brora distilleerderij waar Islay-stijl geturfde whisky's werden gemaakt, om midden jaren '80 definitief gesloten te worden.
Het meeste van de ruim vier miljoen liter die Clynelish tegenwoordig produceert verdwijnt ook weer in de Johnnie Walker blends van Diageo, waardoor er helaas alleen voldoende voor deze single malt expressie van 14 jaar en een prachtige distiller's edition.
Deze volgt binnenkort ook als proefnotitie.

.clynelish website