The Spirit of Art Clynelish Tasting Notes

The Spirit of Art Clynelish 2008(?) 12 year old 63.8%

Bourbon/ Dist: 2008(?) Btl: 2020/ Tasted Nov 2020

Intense, herbal and honeyed aromas with plenty of fresh Bourbon and hints of petrol, grain-like dried fruit, vanilla paste and marzipan. Serious oak overkill. The alcohol is well contained but there’s not much barley or spirit character.

The palate is oaky – vanlla creme, toast, gritty tannins and a touch of coconut ice cream. A little mineral on the middle with a toiuch of honey and malt. Short and masked. In fact you only realise on the finish that its over 60%! Dangerous!

With water the nose is still very oaky. Less sweet and more gritty perhaps. On the palate the oak has regressed so a bit of barley can be detected. However its a bit simple. Medium length with milky oak on the finish.

Scotch Malt Whisky Society Clynelish Tasting Notes

Scotch Malt Whisky Society 26.119 1995 (21 year old) ‘Dark and dangerously good’ 56%

First Fill Pedro Ximinez Butt/ Dist: Oct 1995 Btl: 2017/ Tasted: Nov 2018

A manure, treacle, burnt scrub and rose petal marc nose. Old and creaking! Water brings out a vague vanilla note but makes it soapy as well.

The palate is full and oaky with loads of herbal rye-like notes and bitter old oak. Water does it no favours! The finish is alcoholic and bitter. In conclusion: Old and knackered. Water makes it fall apart. Dangerously good? You are having a laugh! [tasted blind]

Bartles Whisky Clynelish Tasting Notes

Highland Laird Clynelish 1997 (17 year old) 52.9%

Sherry Hogshead/ Dist: 1997 Btl: 2014/ Tasted: April 2015

Fragrant barley aromas mingle with straw, mature honey, herbs, grass and hints of malt. This is a very complex nose and opens to show hints of wheat germ, bran, lemon bonbons and lime. The sherry influence is very subtle so the oak is more toffee’d in character.

The palate is soft with fragrant barley and light honey. It darkens slightly on the middle as some malt arrives along with hints of coffee and toffee. Quite alcoholic and piquant but the juicy barley makes the finish rather succulent. Hints of grass, minerals and dry tannins finish it off.

With water the nose becomes amazingly juicy with orange, tangerine and Satsuma notes. The oak has become subtler too. The palate pretty much mirrors the nose. The citrus fruit shows a delightful sugar coating and the finish less tannic, but chewier and maltier

Wemyss Vintage Malts Clynelish Tasting Notes

Wemyss Single Cask Release ‘Bench with a Sea View’ 1997 (17 year old) 46%

Bourbon Hogshead/ Dist: 1997 Btl: Winter 2014/ Tasted: Jan 2015

Nose: Initially quite oily and a little fishy with gritty oak and violets. Luscious honey balances the gritty oak and as if by magic the oak becomes very mature and sawdusty. The perfumed honey asserts and hints of ginger root, liquorice and herbs appear.

Palate: Soft and mature with barley and oodles of luscious honey and sawdusty oak. A touch of green apple and citrus comes through on the middle to balance the dusty tannins and honey.

Finish: Long and salty with the fleshy fruit and honey lingering along with a light mocha note.

Conclusion: Beautifully balanced. Gritty oak and coastal notes hint at an Islander but the oak and honey says Speyside. Grantown-on-sea?

Single Malts of Scotland Clynelish Tasting Notes

Speciality Drinks ‘Single Malts of Scotland’ Clynelish 1995 (18 year old) 57.5%

Bourbon Cask 10193/ Dist: 1995 Btl: Mar 2014/ Tasted: July 2014

The nose is oily and intensely grainy with plenty of dried, oxidised fruit to start with hints of wheat flakes and herbal rye-like notes. Youthful and exuberant with the herbal notes intensifying. Hints of honey and creamy oak add some sweetness. Water mutes the aromas big time! Very oily now with only the herbal element remaining.

Soft an oaky to start on the palate. Buckets of creamy vanillins, followed by sweet barley and alcohol! There are hints of dried fruit on the middle, but the alcohol dominates. Diluted it becomes rather watery and a bit vague, some sawdusty notes do appear though. The finish is still quite oaked! With the alcohol masking. Water brings out the herbal notes but there’s no taming the alcohol! In conclusion: Unbalanced and too alcoholic. I had feeling it might fall apart with water, and it did!

Edition Spirits Clynelish Tasting Notes

Edition Spirits ‘The First Edition Clynelish’ 1996 (17 year old) 58.2%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: EDI0032/Dist: 1996 Btl: Feb 2014/ Tasted: Mar 2014

A lovely nose of floral orange blossom honey, sweet barley and lightly sawdusty oak. It absolutely oozes mature tropical white fruit, apricot and pineapple. Wow! The oak is becoming wonderfully sawdusty and some crunchy graduated sugar and aromatic lime notes appear.

The palate opens pretty much like the nose with the orange blossom honey and tropical fruit. Extremely mouth-filling with chunk oak and barley. Very spicy middle with a balancing lime note. Long, dusty, honeyed, spicy finish. Very impressive.

The First Editions ‘Authors Series No3 Edgar Allen Po’ Clynelish 1996 (18 year old) 56.1%

Refill Hogshead HL1170/ Dist: Dec 1996 Btl: Jan 2015/ Tasted: Dec 2015

Fresh citrus aromas with baked fruit and hints of almond, salt and damp straw. A touch of sweet barley appears but it’s a bit woody and feels older than 18.

The palate is quite drying and woody with baked fruit an hints of barley and citrus. Neat the finish is quite masked and alcoholic with a touch of pulped fruit in the finish.

With water the baked fruits are still evident on the nose along with pithy tangerine and orange. Hints of sweet oak now appear along with a touch of clove. Lovely and luscious now. The palate displays the tangerine/ orange fruit found on the nose and it feels fuller, fruitier and sweeter with a lovely barley’d character. Long and very juicy with pear, peach and subtle almond notes in the finish. Although the nose is better with water the palate outshines it.

Hunter Laing Clynelish Tasting Notes

Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask Clynelish 1997 (16 year old) 50%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: OMC2284/ HL9881

Dist: July 1997 Btl: Jun 2013/ Tasted: Feb 2014

Now that’s an oaky nose. Buttery and toasty with some fragrant barley, dense apricot and honey. A touch of citrus and mineral attempts to balance but we are still firmly in oaksville! With time the oak becomes rather chocolaty in character – white chocolate.

The palate displays a little less oak, which allows the crunchy/brittle honey to show, but the oak duly arrives and builds coating the mouth in a creamy/ toffee’d/ toasty veneer . The mineral and citrus comes back on the finish to clean and leaves a lovely soft honey and spice after-taste.

Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask Clynelish 1997 (16 year old) 50%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: OMC2351/ HL10298

Dist: May 1997 Btl: Feb 2014/ Tasted: June 2014

A dense and dusty nose with a big fragrant barley hit. The oak has a lovely slightly sawdusty edge which gives the aromas a greater aged feeling. Quite fleshy with hints of apricot, white fruit, grass, honeycomb and smoke.

A soft, barley led palate with plenty of sawdusty oak. Again it feels older than 16 with toffee coated apricot and hints of white fruit along with a vibrant, stony demeanour. Lovely honeyed middle and a long, dusty oak finish with a touch of sweet spice. Very pleasant.

Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask Clynelish 1997 (17 year old) 50%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: OMC2460/ HL11236

Dist: Apr 1997 Btl: Feb 2015/ Tasted: July 2015

A lovely, fragrant, barley’d nose with summer fruit, honey and malt. Deep and juicy with hints of vanilla and straw.

The palate opens with soft, white fruit, apricot, straw-like barley and moist honey. A touch of malt and bitter coffee comes through on the middle along with developing herbal notes and vanilla. Long, fresh, granity finish with lingering white fruit and honey.

Douglas McGibbon Clynelish Tasting Notes

Douglas McGibbon Provenance Clynelish 1997 (15 year old) 46%

Refill Bourbon Barrel/ Code: PRV1149/ DMG10771

Dist: June 2008 Btl: June 2015/ Tasted: May 2013

A crisp granity barley nose with a light, boiled sweet character along with a touch of woody spice and creamy oak. The aromas become fuller as some banana and apricot fruit becomes apparent and the oak begins to show a slight sawdusty aged demeanour. With time it becomes very spicy.

The palate opens with some sweet barley, tangerine and apricot. Bold and fruity with a serious minerality. Some lightly oiled oak appears brining a touch of toffee, and even though it has some lovely granulated sugar moments the minerality dominates. Lovely length with a light citrus note and lingering sweetness.

Coopers Choice Tasting Notes

The Vintage Malt Whisky Company ‘Coopers Choice’ Clynelish 1998 (12 year old) 46%

American Hogshead 7732/ Dist: 1998 Btl: 2011/ Tasted: Mar 2013

A pleasantly fresh nose of lemon along with some hints of honey and popcorn. Maybe a touch on the thin side but with time it develops some pleasant perfumed white fruit notes.

The palate is thicker than the nose suggests, mainly down to the fact that the oak has put in an appearance! It opens with some soft barley and honey which is interwoven with a sweet caramel thread. Gently refreshing granity, citrusy middle with a little herbal note. Good length with a lightly earthy finish.

Carn Mor Clynelish Tasting Notes

Carn Mor Celebration of the Cask Clynelish 1996 (19 year old) 55.4%

Bourbon Hogshead 8801/ Dist: Oct 1996 Btl: Oct 2015/ Tasted: Nov 2015

Lovely fresh and grassy aromas of sweet barley, orange blossom honey and hints of har, brittle barley. Some soft, buttery oak rounds the nose out and hints of perfume peach become apparent. With time some malt and coffee appears and the oak becomes a little dusty.

The palate is as fresh, crisp an grassy as the nose with white fruit and subtle creamy oak. Full and barley’d on the middle with hints of white liquorice and honey. Long and remaining crisp with a wonderfully vibrant and citric finish. The lightly oily vanilla and barley balances well.

Water brings out the juicy citrus on the nose but equally makes it oilier and meatier. On the palate it emphasises the oak a little and gives it a spicier finish. However I refer it neat.

Carn Mor Celebration of the Cask Clynelish 1997 (20 year old) 57%

First Fill Sherry Butt 9441/ Dist: Sept 1997 Btl: Sept 2017/ Tasted: Oct 2017

Rich, treacle and aromatic dried fruit on the nose with hints of citrus, cardamom, cinnamon and subtle herbal Oloroso notes. Good complexity with a touch of butter, heather and barley.

The palate displays more sherry character and opens with the luscious treacle and dried fruit, along with wonderfully soft, chocolaty tannins, walnut and raisin. Deep and long with a gentle spice and herbal finish. There’s a little bitterness at the end but for a first fill sherry cask it has a lovely balance.

Carn Mor Celebration of the Cask Clynelish 1989 (27 year old) 54.5%

Bourbon Hogshead/ Dist: 1989 Btl: 2016/ Tasted: May 2016

Beautiful aromas of dusty American oak with hints of lime, pear, orange, honey and lightly herbal coffee’d notes. With time some earthy, herbal spice appears. Stunning depth and freshness.

The palate opens with a lovely fleshy barley and honey character with subtle, dusty oak. Hints of citrus, earth, vanilla and coffee follow. Lovely, earthy, spicy and coffee’d finish with lingering herbs, honey, vanilla and late dark chocolate.

 

---

Carn Mor Clynelish 2003 (6 year old) 46%

Bourbon Hogshead 2223/ Dist: 2003 Btl: 2009/ Tasted: Feb 2012

A biscuity, soapy, cerealy marc-like nose with a touch of spice. Far, far too young although it’s good spirit. There’s absolutely no wood interaction (which is obvious from the colour or the lack of it!). late hint of grass.

The palate is a bit sweet, a bit gristy, a bit grassy and a bit spicy. Intrusively alcoholic, no wood, no real finish, should have been left in the cask for a few more years.