Origin: Highlands (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 57.5%ABV
Ageing casks: Ex-Bourbon first fill
Chillfiltered: No
Added colouring: No
Owner: Diageo
Average price: € 200.00
Official website: www.malts.com
Vote: 84/100
Re-entering Special Release after a seven-year absence last year, Clynelish is back again, this time in an all-bourbon maturation, moving closer to the standard version.
I think the label itself expresses the ‘Jazz Crescendo’ by which this bottling has been dubbed, which is meant to recall the sweet waxy melodies of Clynelish in a jazz harmony, with captivating and sublime solos. And hopefully without cues.
Tasting notes
And on the nose I would say that we are there, ticking the fruity box with banana, peach, pear and lemon zest, the confectionery box with vanilla, candyfloss, caramel and shortcrust pastry, the spicy box with a light touch of ginger and pepper, and finally the waxy box, expressed in the background together with honey. A mineral and at times coastal note permeates the aromas, which with that of lemon maintains the freshness of the nose. Balsamic tension along the length.
Pronounced spiciness at the entrance, which soon leaves room for fruit rather than waxiness, here decidedly in the background, opening up to tropical intrusions with very definite fruit, always with citric inflections. Pineapple, grapefruit, coconut and mango flank the white fruit, with plenty of black pepper and a pronounced saline note that becomes evident over time. The balsamic and menthol evidence returns, more evident in the length.
Quite long finish of pepper, salt, white fruit, mineral notes and a gust of smoke.
What you would expect from a Clynelish, well done, really good, with all the notes in their place, although it perhaps lacks incisiveness, as if it only goes so far and then stops. Perhaps the age, perhaps the strength, perhaps because it is jazz that opens several solos without knowing how to close them.