• Single Grain
• Campbeltown
• Central Highlands
• Eastern Highlands
• Islands
• Islay
• Lowlands
• Northern Highlands
• Speyside
• Western Highlands

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Clynelish Distillery
Brora,
Sutherland
KW9 6LR
+44 1408 623 000

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Owner: United Distillers & Vintners (Diageo) Ltd

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Creation date 1967

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Photos

	Clynelish
			Sample
O.B.	14 years	18 2/5
	Distillers edition 1991		16
	Rare Malts 23 years	17
Bresser&Timmer / The Nectar	Daily Dram: Kleine Licht, 11 years	18
	Daily Dram: Shiny Cell
Douglas Laing	Old Malt Cask, 1972	18 1/2
	Platinum collection aged 35 years	19
Gordon & MacPhail	Connoisseur's Choice 1989	17 2/5
Jean Boyer	Best Casks of Scotland 1997		17
	Best Casks of Scotland 1990		17
Murray McDavid	Murray McDavid Mission 1983	18 2/3
Signatory	Un-chillfiltered collection 1992	17 2/3
Taste Still	Festival Verviers Bottling		18
Ian McLeod	Chieftains Choice 13 years	17 1/2
The Whisky Exchange	Single Malts of Scotland, 10 years
	Single Malts of Scotland, 15 years		18
	Single Malts of Scotland, 34 years

 

Clynelish 14 years
Age	14 years
Alcohol	46%
Bottler	Official
Price/litre

 

What a wonderful whiwky!!. This is one of my best surprises. Being a lover of Islay whiskies, the malt from Northern Highlands really estonished me. A perfect balance between peat and rare spices malt. This great successor of the dead Brora distillery is far most one of the best whiskies I ever tasted. Its quality-price ratio is very good. I really recommand it. A must for each good whisky collection.  

A delightful spicy and perfumed nose, with some floral and malty hints, the whole beeing very fresh and rather complex. A great complexity in the palate as well, whit some slight citrus hints, on a honey background with peat ant delicious spices. A finish developing on honey hints, than some more bitter and salted touches. A very nice whisky.

During the third tasting, the nose was still as delicate and perfumed, with its spicy and floral notes. In the palate, the slightly acid citrus hints seemed to be stronger than the first times, and the spicy notes are still present. A rather long and pleasant finish.

The nose is between spices and some iodized and slightly smokey hints. In the palate, an interesting contrast between citrus fruits and dry peat. A nice complexity, however less nice than in my memory of preceding tastings. The finish is long and salty, slightly acid.

Quite a nice nose although rather discrete. Hints of marshmallow behind nice floral notes. Ripe fruit too. Hints of smoke and nice presence of spices. This whisky is not frankly expressive at the first nosing, but it's just subtlety. Very promising nose anyway.
The palate is immediately pleasant mixing nice sweet hints with slightly acid hints, but sill very subtle and nuanced. A fruity taste anyway.
The finish perfectly prolongs the mouth, with its sweetness and refinement on one hand and on the other hand nice spicy and salty contrasts.

 

Comment by Henrik Johansson

Date of tasting: 12/11 2007
Apperance: old gold, clear amber Nose: Solvent nose with bubble gums and acid drops, some scorched plastic and fruity hints -mainly pears, green apples and some citric notes, slight development of smoke and lots of prickle in the straight nose. The reduced nose lends lots of fresh, sweetish fumes and suddenly this is a very complex dram. It's a pleasant balance between fruits, cereals and some floral and peaty hints lingering in the background. Body: Medium, but very tight Palate: The start is bland and suppressed in reduced dram, the middle is delayed. Then comes a bang of flavours in the back of the tounge and the finish is quite long. The straight dram is much more intense with a dry beginning and a long finish which shifts from honey an! d woody to spicy to teasingly prickly. I prefer to nose this diluted and drink it straight.
85/100

Clynelish 15 years Distillers Edition 1991-2006
Age	15 years
Alcohol	46%
Bottler	Official
Cask	Sherry Oloroso Fino
Price/litre

The nose is quite discrete, with some nice combination of smoke and sherry. Rather complex, with a touch of spices. The mouth is amazingly sweet, and the sherry dominates clearly the usual coastal character of a Clynelish. But it is nicely balanced, with notes of red wine, a great (too great?) sweetness, blackberry jam, with some very slight acid touches, but so discrete... The palate is not really complex. The finish is warm, slightly pungent, but misses nearly all the personallity which makes Clynelish a great whisky.

Clynelish 23 years Rare Malts 1974-1998
Age	23 years
Alcohol	59.1%
Bottler	Official
Price/litre

A nice nose whit sea hints, salt and iodine hiding fruity notes (apple) The first impression in the palate is acidity (citrus) which seems to go on for a while and discrete fruity notes are appearing, together with a light smoke impression. Alcohol is rather present, without hindering however. The finish is warm and relatively long.

 

Clynelish 1989 Connoisseurs choice
Age	11 ans
Alcohol	40%
Bottler	Gordon & MacPhail
Price/litre

 

All the magic from the official version seems to have disapeared is this Gordon & MacPhail version. The basics are still present, with some interesting spicy hints  , but the finish is much shorter and this makes this a more ordinary whisky. A kind of disapointment, probably due to the expectations created by the official version.

During the second tasting, a kind of complexity with smoke and spice hints gave me an excellent impression. A kind of after-taste, may be due to addiction of caramel -traditional in Gordon & MacPhail versions- temper the enthousiasm.

During the third tasting, the malt seemed to have lost all its spicy hints, and even if it remains a pleasant whisky, the general impression is less than during the second tasting. A lack of complexite, and a too short finish bring the quote back to 17.

It seems thta this whisky needs a certain time to express all its qualities.... Aeration? Oxidation?.. During the fourth tasting, the nose was fruity (pear) and slightly malty at the time, complex, allying fruit notes to maritime ones, salt and iodine, the whole being perfectly balanced. After a while, liquorice hint and spicy and smoly toutches appear, giving a new dimension to this already rather complex nose. The palate is complex too, with malted touches, a kind of bitterness, wallnut and woody notes and a finish marked by a mix of wood and chocolate. A very nice bottle.

The first nose is discrete with some marshmallow aspects, and after a while some fresh hits of cut grass and mint are emerging. A delicate nose, and interesting too, even if it could be some clearer. The palate seems to be cast in the same mould, rather discrete and fresh. A smooth mix of slightly acid notes and sweeter ones, without however great emotions for the papilla's The finis is long and pleasant, with first a discrete of the marshmallow hints followed by a development on more coloured notes. Rereading my previous notes written a few months earlier, the conclusion seems to be that this whisky is quite instable... It seems to change a lot with the time.

 

 

Clynelish 13 years Chieftain's Choice
Age	13 years
Alcohol	46%
Bottler	Ian McLeod
Price/litre

 

Surprisingly whisky. Far from the official 14 years old bottling, this whiskt is remarkable by its very long and pleasant finish, while the first impression in the palate did not make expect such a pleasure. The taste is slightly acid, reminding citrus fruits, but is rather complex and pleasant after a few seconds. The nose did not announce such a pleasant finish.

The nose is rather discrete and offers some remote hints of smoke and reveals a kind of acidity on a malt background. The palate is rather sweet and marked by the wood and a nut taste.The finish is very pleasant, long and complex, with touches of dry fruits (nuts), malt and citrus fruits.

The rather discrete nose offers a nice mix of farm smells (animal notes, young leather and wet earth with hay). A hint of smoke on the background and some fruity touches as well. In the palate, a smooth mix of citrus fruit and walnut, a kind of sweet-sour character, mix of bitterness and sweetness. Unripe walnut with honey. A nice lingering finish, where the honey remains, near the memory of this nice woody bitterness combined to slightly acid citrus fruit hints.

Quite a "farmy" nose, with notes of wet hay, malt and yeast at first nosing. Then some fruity notes emanate together with grass hints and a discrete touch of mint. In the palate, a very pleasant impression build from a mix of malt and dry fruits, nicely balanced and very smooth. The finish is warm and mainly marked by hints of malted barley.

 

 

Clynelish 1983 Murray McDavid Mission
Age	20 years
Alcohol	46%
Bottler	Murray McDavid
Price/litre

 

The nose reveals some discrete marine hints, mixed with some sweet and perfumed notes. This malt is very complex in the palate, and develops fragrances going from sweet honey to spicy and mentholated notes, and even some smoky hints. A rather long finish makes this liquid delicacy a very good bottle.

The nose is rather discrete and reveals some sea flavours, but also some slight hints of smoke and fruits (apple), spices (pepper) and menthol. In the mouth, a nice complexity, allying the sweetness of honey and cereals (like morning muesli) with clearly acid notes (green apple) covered by smoky and peaty notes. A very nice lingering finish, with some woody hints.

A spicy nose with peppery hints. Behind the spices, fruit and malt. Green apple. Light veil of smoke. The mouth is first rather discrete before developing on slightly bitter motes, marked by a discrete presence of yeast and nutty aromas. Very pleasant palate with lots of contrasts and a nice tastes palette. The finish is relatively long with discrete fruity hints and a slight impression of alcohol
.

 

Clynelish Signatory Un-Chillfiltered collection 1992
Age	12 years
Alcohol	46%
Bottler	Signatory
Particularity	Un-chillfiltered
Price/litre

The nose is fresh and complex, mixing (dominant) lemon with malt and pepper. The taste is slightly acid, green apple and less complex than the nose was. The finish is very pleasant, going from lemon to malt, with on the background some hints of violet.

The nose reveals strange smells of meat juice (or leather) mixed with discrete hints of tnagerine and with nice spicy notes on the background. The mouth is a bit less interesting than the nose was but reveals however very nice hints marked by cereal, leather and ripe apple. A very nice finish too, lingering and pleasant with some remote hints of liquorice.

The nose is both rather fresh and "farmy" with clear fruity hints. Grass and hay, salt and peat, leather. Some wood on the background. Nice complexity and a great promise of pleasure. A nice balance between gentian bitterness, woody hints and woody hints together with a light citrus influence characterize the mouth. The mouth is less spectacular then the nose was. The finish is long and bitter while remaining pleasantly marked by some malty hints.

 

Clynelish Old Malt Cask 1972
Age	30 years
Alcohol	50%
Bottler	Douglas Laing
Particularity	Un-chillfiltered
Price/litre

A very pleasant nose marked by spices (pepper), remaining amazingly fresh, with nice citrus touches and a soupçon of smoke behind all those impressions. A very nice presence anyway. In the mouth, farm notes, just like "drinking some hay". A refined woody bitterness, allied to malty hints on a background of light smoke give the whole a nice complexity, even if a broader taste palate could be expected. The finish is quite long, without any exageration however, marked by a light bitterness and an undeniable presence of alcohol, prolonging pleasantly the mouth sensations.

A nice floral nose with nice peppery and spicy notes. A touch of mint or cut grass gives it a fresh turn.
Freshness is also the first feeling in the palate, quickly followed by an explosion of fragrances, the one more pleasant than the other. Ripe fruit, a light bitterness a touch of eucalyptus.
The finish is fresh and lingering, and a mentholated and fruity (unripe fruit) prolongs the pleasure for long minutes.

Clynelish Platinum 1971-2006
Age	35 years
Alcohol	46.5%
Bottler	Douglas Laing
Price/litre

A superb fruity nose, very fresh with some medicinal touches. Green apple, exotic fruit, mint, some hints of wet hay. A touch of sea air. Quite a promising nose. The mouth is very fresh as well. Green apple, citrus fruits and touches of gentian. Rather complex, the mouth is a bit less spectacular than the nose was. But the nose is really exceptional. The finish is quite long and slightly woody, with chocolate notes and really prolongs the palate's pleasure.

Clynelish Single Malts of Scotland 34 years
Age	34 years
Alcohol	50.5%
Bottler	The Whisky Exchange
Price/litre

Clynelish Single Malts of Scotland 10 ans 1996-2007, cask #2428
Age	10 years
Alcohol	59,6%
Bottler	The Whisky Exchange
Price/litre

Clynelish Kleine Licht
Age	11 ans
Alcohol	56,1%
Bottler	Daily Dram
Price/litre

Very nice nose balanced between gingerbread and pepper on the one hand and a very pleasant fruity side on the other hand. Very impressing anyway, and also very refined without being too complex and announcing an excellent whisky, uncompromising and pleasantly smooth.
The first mouth is slightly spicy and then develops on very pleasant cereal notes with discrete hints of cashew nut.
The finish is lingering, first clearly marked by alcohol (amazing, as nor the nose nor the mouth noticed this) but developing soon on malty and chocolate notes, taking the first nose impression up again.

Clynelish Shiny Cell
Age	12 years
Alcohol	46%
Bottler	Daily Dram
Price/litre

Clynelish Best Casks of Scotland 1990
Age	14 ans
Embouteilleur	Jean Boyer
Taux d'alcool	43%

The nose reveals clear but smooth hints of ripe fruit (between pear and plum) with touches of citrus fruit (orange). In the palate, a strange impression betzeen bitter and fruity, a remarkably complex taste. The whole remais smooth, witn no aggressivenes at all. A touch of smoke on the background. A lingering and pleasant finish developing on the fruits.

Clynelish Best casks of Scotland 1997
Age	8 years
Alcohol	43%
Bottler	Jean Boyer

The nose is marked by spices and citrus fruit. Very complex, it also detects nice floral notes, a touch of wax and of pepper. In the palate, a mix of citrus fruits and pepper, a very nice presence, however less complex than the nose was, but excellent. No farm notes like Clynelish uses to have. The finish is rather fresh and not too long. Some acid notes at the end.

Clynelish Taste Still 1995-2007 Verviers Festival Bottling
Age	12 ans
Embouteilleur	Taste Still
Taux d'alcool	50%
Prix/litre

The nose presents first some nice fruity notes besides hints of cut grass, and after a while, some clear gentian whiffs appear, behind a light veil of smoke. Anyway, a very fresh nose. No aggressiveness neither. This announces quite an interesting whisky. In the palate, a nice acidity, rich in nuances, perfectly in the mood of the nose, with however some unwanted tinglings. The finish is smooth and lingering, nicely perfumed, fruit hints and some discrete nutty notes.

Clynelish Single Malts of Scotland 15 years
Age	15 years
Alcohol	46%
Bottler	The Whisky Exchange
Price/litre

Quite a nice floral and relatively fresh nose, with nice notes of hey and vanilla. Very pleasant anyway.
In the mouth, the same freshness sensation, mixed with unripe fruit notes (green apple?) and touches of honey which smother the whole. Nice complexity. A very beautiful Clynelish anyway.
The finish is lingering and and the same notes, both honeyed and slightly acid unripe fruit notes mixing pleasantly during long minutes.