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Clynelish
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My
thanks to Teun van Wel for permission to copy & use the
distillery photos |
Clynelish distillery
Region:
Highland
Location: Brora, Sutherland
Status: Operational (owned by Diageo)
General whisky characteristics: Smooth and light with rich
flavours
Some more great distillery info here, thanks to
Malt Madness |
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Clynelish,
14y,
46% ABV
Typical cost of
this bottle; €€€€€
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Glass: Classic Malt
Colour: Rich gold, almost
amber
Nose:
Aromatic, quite floral, hints of gentle peat and coconut
Palate: Smooth and rich,
only the slightest hint of earth (perhaps faint peat), but
definite coconut.
Finish:
Long
Overall Impression:
Very enjoyable. |
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Clynelish,
12y,
46% ABV,
European Oak
(Sherry) casks
Bottled 2009 for
Friends of the Classic Malts, NCF
Typical cost of
this bottle; €€€€€
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Glass: Classic Malt
Colour: Bright, sunny
amber
Nose:
Aged oak, hints of leather, warm currants and the open
countryside with grass, heather and fresh air.
Palate: Rich, creamy and
smooth with a hint of coconut, liquorice and toasted almonds.
Figs too?
Finish:
Very long and right on the front of the palate with toasted dark
fruits.
Overall Impression:
Very smooth, creamy and an excellent 12y whisky! |
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Clynelish,
Distillers Edition, 1992-2007, 46% ABV
Double matured in
Oloroso Seco casks
Typical cost of
this bottle; €€€€€
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Glass: Classic Malt
Colour: Bright, sunny
amber
Nose:
Fresh, light, fragrant. Some herbs and grasses interspersed with
raspberry and just a hint of wood.
Palate: Delightfully
smooth, hints of raspberries with custard, spicy herbs and
fragrant wood with currants.
Finish:
Very long and fruity.
Overall Impression:
A delight! |
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Clynelish,
40% ABV
Brown & Orange
diagonally split label, 1970's bottling?
Typical cost of
this bottle; Originally €€€€€
now €€€€€
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Glass: Classic Malt
Colour: Darkened oak /
amber
Nose:
Very fruity with a mixture of apple, pear, raisins, figs and a
scoop of melon-flavoured ice cream on top.
Palate: Lots of tingle
right at the front of the palate. Fresh melon makes an
appearance but quickly fades to leave a slightly more bitter
fruit.
Finish:
Very long and changeable, but including more melon.
Overall Impression:
A very good old bottling. Sadly no more. |
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Clynelish,
"Cask Strength", Distillery only bottling, 57.3% ABV
Typical cost of
this bottle; €€€€€
"Dram-atics"
live review
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Glass: Classic Malt
Colour: Light yellow, pale
gold
Nose:
Initially hay and straw, but growing fresher with minutes. After
some time it has a very faint, almost antiseptic note, but this
soon fades to leave very slightly smoky raspberry. From
something which started slowly, there's a lot now happening here
as it keeps evolving over 5-10 minutes.
Palate: A leafy but
creamy start which then includes malt and something peppery
which is almost liquorice, but not quite. Light treacle toffee?
Also not quite, but in that direction.
With
4 drops of water: The nose is now slightly fruity straw and
the palate is smoother with less pepper.
With
4 more drops of water: A very weak but definitely 'farmy'
nose, but a more fruity and less 'farmy' palate. Also more
pepper leading into the finish.
Finish:
Long, fruity, slightly farmy.
Overall Impression:
I really thought this to be quite weak at the beginning, but it
just needs time to develop. Don't rush this one and you'll be
rewarded with a fine whisky that just keeps developing and
evolving. I highly recommend this one if you can get it,
which means go to the distillery! |
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Premier Malts,
Clynelish,
32y,
distilled
1971,
cask 2704, 54.2% ABV
Typical cost of
this bottle; €€€€€
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Nose:
Very floral with hints of liquoroce and malt
Palate: Deliciously
smooth with an immediate nutty fruity tingle. This is extremely
intense and you can tell it's CS at over 50%! The rich flavours
of nut and fruit (apricot / peach) last almost forever on the
front middle of the tongue.
With water: The nose had
gained a little vanilla. The flavours are the same, but fiercely
more intense.
Verdict: I love this
whisky!!!
Whisky & Chocolate: A
fantastic combination to this 32y Clynelish was found to be the
Olive Oil truffle by Franz as it enhanced the palate with
absolute finesse. |
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Murray McDavid,
Clynelish,
14y,
distilled
1990,
46% ABV
Typical cost of
this bottle; €€€€€ |
Nose: Liquorice, vanilla
Palate: Immediate faint
liquorice turning into smoke and heather. Tingles on the centre
of the tongue and leaves a long but dry aftertaste of toffee and
liquorice.
Overall Impression: A
good, solid whisky.
Whisky & Food: I served this with a Carpacchio-style beef
served with pasta in a light sweet-mustard sauce and the
combination worked perfectly! |
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Duncan Taylor 'NC2',
Clynelish,
13y,
46% ABV
Typical cost of
this bottle; €€€€€ |
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Nose:
Very weak smoke with an even weaker hint of
ground coffee-beans
Palate:
A Sunday joint of roast beef coated in a
peppercorn crust.
Overall Impression:
This
one is quite difficult to judge. From my notes one would expect
strong flavours, but they are really rather weakened.
A slight disappointment. |
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Whisky Doris,
Clynelish,
distilled 10.96, bottled 05.09, 12y,
58.3% ABV
Sherry Butt, one of
221 bottles
Typical cost of
this bottle; €€€€€ |
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Glass:
Spiegelau
Colour:
Rich gold, almost amber
Nose:
Slightest hint of
smoke, hardened leather, weathered wood and a hint of raisins.
Palate:
Marzipan and ice
cream with just a touch of peach.
With 5 drops of
water in about 1.5cl: A little more wood and smoke on the
nose. Much smoother palate with nuts, but more fruit. Almost
cherries!
With 12 drops of
water in about 1cl: Faint nose but delightful palate with a
hint of smoke and lots of rich, dark fruits.
Finish: Very
long, almost everlasting with the drops of water. Slightly sweet
and very fruity.
Overall Impression:
An extremely good
whisky. I really like it! |
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