Clynelish Distillery Exclusive Batch #1

Scotch Whisky Review #483: Clynelish Distillery Exclusive Batch

Distillery: Clynelish.

Region: Highland.

Age: NAS. Bottled in 2019.

ABV: 48.0%.

Price: Sold at the distillery store for £90 in October of 2022. This particular sample was a driver’s dram from the tour the wife and I did there. The other drams poured as part of the tour were a Clynelish 14 year and a Johnnie Walker Gold 18 year.

Color: 0.6, Old Gold.

This is the 11th installment of this years’ Christmas Countdown. You can check out previous editions as well (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022).

Nose: This is really bright, fresh, and summery. Lemon and wax notes galore. Lemon comes in several forms starting with fresh lemon zest, followed by a bit of lemon curd, and ending with a waxy lemon rind. Overall the scents are so much more intense and impactful than I remember it being.

Palate: It is a bit delicate and light on the palate as opposed to intensity on the palate but that doesn’t mean it isn’t flavorful. Waxy lemons are the main note here which is joined by some orange blossom and granulated honey. Adding a few drops of water intensifies the honey and orange blossom notes to the point where they overtake the waxy lemon. A quick moment of chocolate shortbread also pops up adding a nice bit of depth.

Finish: Medium to long in length. Largely floral with edible flowers and a touch of rose water giving a nice and refreshing finish.

Conclusion: Every so often I have something a second time that really challenges my memory of the first time I’d tried it. This Clynelish Distillery Exclusive certainly falls into that category. I remember being thoroughly unimpressed by this dram as part of the tour experience at Clynelish, though I will say the lineup they poured us with the tour there overall was pretty lackluster but the folks manning their bar certainly made it worth our time. Sitting down with it again over a year later and I’m left with very much the opposite reaction. This comes across as a rather good whisky that really shows off their distillery character beautifully. I’m not sure I would say it would be worth the expense at £90 especially since it isn’t much more to get their handfill at cask strength, but it is certainly an impressive improvement on the standard 14 year old. Very tasty and certainly quality stuff.

Rating: 83.

Scotch Whisky Review #483, Highland Review #97, Whisky Network Review #647

Scoring Legend:

  • 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
  • 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
  • 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
  • 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
  • 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
  • 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
  • 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
  • 50-59: Save it for mixing.
  • 0-49: Blech.

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