Auction, if you’re very lucky.

Meh.

For the details…

Clynelish is one of Scotland’s semi-hidden gems. It has been something of a cult whisky, with single malt connoisseurs fawning over the interesting waxy character (supposedly the result of a build-up in the intermediate feints receiver) found in some expressions. The distillery was founded by the iniquitous Marquess of Stafford in 1819; reviled in the Highlands for his leading role in the brutal Highland clearances, he was made Duke of Sutherland for his efforts. At least he founded a good distillery!

The original distillery founded by the hated peer is now called Brora, after the nearby town, and is only just back in production after nearly 40 years of silence. The Clynelish moniker now attaches to a very modern facility that was built in 1967. Both are owned by Diageo, the Scotch whisky industry’s dominant player.

The independent bottler Signatory Vintage was founded by Andrew Symington, and has become one of the most easily recognizable and widely available independent bottlers. Signatory issues a variety of different ranges, including vintage expressions bottled at cask strength, and the “Un-chillfiltered Collection” bottled at 46% abv. This Clynelish was bottled as part of a range known as the “decanter collection”, which presents the whisky in a handsome, unlabelled bottle, although alas at a somewhat lackluster 43% abv and without any specification on chill-filtering. It’s a hefty whisky that has clearly spent a fair share of time in an ex-wine cask, probably first fill Olorosso or Pedro Ximenez sherry. It’s pretty enjoyable stuff, if you’re a fan of meaty, somewhat sulphurous, sherried drams, but alas, the…uh, cough, vigorous cask…nearly completely drowns the spirit, here. Good luck distinguishing this dram from a heavily sherried dram from almost any distillery producing at least a medium weight spirit. 

Clynelish 1995 (Signatory – Decanter Collection) 43% abv

Nose: Rich but fresh. Some rancio, fresh raspberries, and a gentle whiff of meaty smoke. Gunpowder. Smoked ham in a sauce made of apricot nectar.

Body: Rather full, rich, chewy, and slightly oily.

Palate: English bacon and gunpowder tea. Coffee infused chocolate, very smoky, but there is an undercurrent of honey crisp apple. Pine nuts. A very restrained sweetness–maybe white peach?

Finish: Gently earthy, well-charred cedar log. Rather short

Score: 78/100

Who should buy it?: People who love sherry. People who want to drink meat, as well as eat meat. Clynelish fanatics? Or maybe no one, since you’re not going to find what’s left of this limited release outside (maybe, maybe, maybe) an auction.

Overall thoughts: An enjoyable dram, in a sloppy sort of way. The cask has committed bloody and messy murder of the spirit, here. Jim Murray would abhor this for the sulphur notes that pop up throughout, but if you don’t have his pathological aversion to even the whiff of sulphur, you’ll probably find plenty to like here, even if the final verdict is that the cask has ravaged the spirit. 

Bottling Information:

Expression: Clynelish 1995 43% abv

Bottler: Signatory

Range: The Decanter Collection

Bottle Code: n/a

Presentation: Unspecified

Details: Distilled September 1995, bottled August 2016, 21 years old, cask #8691, 1/840 bottles

Price: $90-130

Availability: If you’re very lucky, maybe at auction.

Distillery Information:

Region: Highlands

Location: Brora, Northern Highlands

Geography: Coastal

Date Founded: 1819

Owner: Diageo

Website: https://www.malts.com/en-us/

Capacity: 4,800,000

Plant Summary: MASH TUN: Lauter; WASHBACKS: 8 wood, 2 steel; STILLS: 6; HEAT SOURCE: Steam; CONDENSER: Shell and Tube

Total expressions sampled: 2

Overall distillery score: S-

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