It's very rare to see an oily/coastal/briny Clynelish these days. The official 14 year bottling has touched of coastal salinity, but only a bit - it's been deliberately rounded, I'm sure, just the way that the famous waxy note has been tamped down pretty dramatically over the years.
So when I spotted this independently bottled oily/coastal 9 year Clynelish from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS"), I was quite curious. Clynelish operates in Brora, Scotland, right on the water, so you'd expect a bit more oceanic influence than you usually get.
Usually with young Clynelish I get a chalky candy bomb full of lemon and citrus. So I'm super curious what this has on tap. Here are the official notes:
The nose finds syrupy flapjack sweetness, heady aromas of pressed flowers and dunnage warehouses, gentle woody spices (including Fisherman’s Friends) and lemon oil. The palate complies – shortbread and salted caramel, citric peel, apricot and physalis, fresh laundry, hibiscus tea and Victory V lozenges. Adding water brings apple notes and hints of mint to the nose, along with mineral suggestions of slate and rock-pools. The reduced palate is a delight – still mouth-coatingly waxy, now with real fruity intensity – peaches and cream, mango and monstera, some seaside holiday memories of sea breezes and ice-cream cones; then a finish of warm earthy spices.
Well, I am reading a lot here that I recognize from other bottles I've had... and only the "mineral suggestions of rock pools" really designates this as more coastal than usual. Bottled at 61.6%, let's sip and search:
Nose: As expected, lots of lemon waxy candies (Skittles, Starburst), a strong scent of candle wax, orange candies (gummi worms?), and quite a few tropical notes (pineapple, mango). It's also quite chalky and musty. Mint and herbs... highly floral after it rests in the glass a bit. No real maritime or coastal notes yet, per se - perhaps a vague suggestion of kosher salt.
With a few drops of water, that "dunnage warehouse" note takes over completely - dust, chalk, slate, clay.
Mouthfeel: Actually a bit thin, but silky.
Palate: A surprisingly strong note of apricot/nectarine (!) - unusual. Flowers and salt (salt is much stronger here than it was on the nose). Table sugar, sour brine, sour tropical notes, some kind of herbal flavor I can't quite zero in on - perhaps because there is a bit of alcohol burn/bloom going on.
With a few drops of water, this becomes very waxy - strongly so. Lemon-scented candle wax, stone fruit (apricot, peach), and surprisingly dry into the finish. Waxy banana candy (like saltwater taffy). Actually, "taffy" is all over this one.
Finish: Surprisingly dry and short - oak, lemon pepper, savory baking spices, dried herbs, chalk, hard wax, even a touch of hard cheese (!).
Verdict: Interesting, intriguing, and rewarding whisky here. This is definitely Clynelish - it couldn't be anything else, really - with a very slightly more coastal variation. It's far from an oceanic brine bomb or anything - like some Pulteneys I've had, for instance - but it does have quite a chalky/rocky/mineral note as the backbone, and some salty touches, along with the expected citrus and wax and floral elements.
I was really surprised by the complexity: citrus fruit, stone fruit, tropical fruit, herbs, flowers, different textures, savory notes, sour notes, sweet notes, etc. For 9 years old, this has a lot going on. It's a great example of the Clynelish house style, with a nice (if low key) slant on the formula. Very much recommended - easily one of the better young Clynelish bottlings I've had.
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