Style: Fruity, Complex and Elegant
Nose:
Gentle entrance of lemon citrus, while herbal notes beaming positively at the front. Orange drops, baked fruits, coriander (?), yellow flowers, a touch of tar and tropical fruits all carefully weaving together to give a subtle, beautiful and complex secondary layer, which is quite the reverse of what the “modern” Clynelish offers. Are we dialing back time and have a taste of old-school Clynelish here? Medicinal spice, peppermint, vanilla barley, a pinch of salt rubbing on game meat, the elements on offer is simply dazzling.
Palate:
Citrus confectioneries building up a nice round sweetness, lemon rind, sea salt, game meat, candle wax, flint stone, coconut shreds and thyme intertwining closely. Yellow flowers blossom, while tropical fruits quietly simmering on top of amber coal and peat smoke. Another dash of peppermint spice, lavender and citrus oil dripping on mineral stones and dry barley.
Finish:
Lemon cake coated with icing sugar, more confectioneries with just a tiny bit of candle wax to finish.
Thoughts:
Not often I get to try 20 years old plus Clynelish, I wonder why there are so little them these days… Now this one feels very different to what we know as the modern style – waxy and citrus-forward, this is way more subtle, way more complex than most Clynelish that I have tried so far. The citrus fruits, tropical fruits, wax, mineral notes, peat smoke, saltiness, grassiness, every piece is assembled intricately with pure elegance and finesse. I wouldn’t say it is my 3 stars whisky, but no wonder Serge likes this so much. Incredible dram.
☆☆ [Highly Recommended]
[50.1% | Independent Bottling | Cask Strength | Non Chill Filtered | Non Coloured | Single Cask | Cask Number: CY9219 | 2019 Bottled | 1992 Distilled | **+]
-Esmond
