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Clynelish 14yo
Arguably Clynelish is one of the more important distillery’s in the Diageo portfolio.
And stop there. Right. It’s not a portfolio of distilleries. It’s a staggering amount of all the whisky production in Scotland and almost dominates scotch. Diageo is not a cottage or craft distiller. It’s a huge bastard unstoppable dreadnaught that can pretty much flatten anything in it’s path. There is no romantic image here. No holding hands on a long walk long a canal on a warm June evening whispering sweet nothings. Or a hardy Scot pushing a barrel of artisan scotch into a dusty warehouse. Harsh reality of Diageo. It is as romantic as fucking over a bin at 3am after a night out clubbing. However Diageo are very good at fucking over a bin at 3am. In fact there is no one better. You think that they are rebuilding Brora and Port Ellen for romance, giggles and PR?
Think……
When it comes to the production of whisky, Diageo really know what they are doing on a grand scale. Just read the specs for the Roseisle plant in Speyside. That is a fucking huge and very serious piece of kit!
A lot of purists out there moan their arses off about Diageo and how they are destroying the industry. But their not and if anything the small batch and craft whisky brigade pretty much owe their existence to Diageo.
Well done purists and snobs…….
Waiting for you to moan……..
Cask strength and purity……..
Filtration bore……
Springbank…….
Slow hand clap…….
Still not gone…..
Go on. Off you fuck.
Clynelish in Brora is essentially one of main feeder distillery for the plethora of blends that Diageo and other other bottlers make. In fact think of some of the great blends and there’s a good chance that Clynelish is in there. Easy examples Johnnie Walker Gold label. Compass box Tobias and the Angels. Sirius by North Star is rumoured to be very Clynelish heavy.
Almost all of the production of Clynelish goes into blends. A few casks get left over to sell or to be bottles. It’s loved by indie bottlers all over world. The majority of whisky drinkers will always have a certain amount of affection for it. Like it or not it is generally respected by the masses. It’s very unique. You sip Clynelish. You know it’s Clynelish. It has a waxy, teeth and gums coating viscosity to it. Almost like it’s signature move. It was also responsible for me taking up whisky as a proper interest. Had a Clynelish 25yo at cask from SMWS cartel. Yes. It is a cartel. That was the bottle that made me really sit up and go “fuck me this is good” and then get really interested in whisky. Real blunt force trauma in a glass.
Since then I’ve always held Clynelish in high regard. But for some unbeknown reason there is only a couple of official bottles. Occasional distillery bottles. Limited ed Game of thrones NAS. Clynelish 14yo. Of these note the words occasional and limited ed. In other words not around forever. Clynelish 14yo is pretty much the main stay.
Now welcome to a better world thanks to Clynelish. I won’t bore the shit out you by really going on about cask maturation but safe to say it has been in a cask made from wood. Bourbon cask wood. Colour? I don’t pissing know what shade of green meadow grass it is. Piss off down to Homebase, stand in a queue and get varnish chart to compare it with. I couldn’t tell you. In the glass. It clings to the sides of the glass when you swirl it round. When you see it, it just makes you smile every time. That viscosity…. Smell. Use a shit cask. Get a shit whisky. They use good casks and the familiar smells come out along with the influence of the geography. Toffee, vanilla, little lemon and citrus, touch of smoky peaty and wax. Taste. Essentially smell it. Taste it. But there is more than that. The slightly higher abv makes it’s presence know and gives you a tap on your arse. Bit of layering going on. Slightly bitter sweet. The taste hangs around. Long finish. Remember it’s only the entry level bottle. Its more than that though. One of the better entry level bottles available. Higher abv along with no filtration and a Solid background. Here’s the kicker though. It’s the benchmark bourbon cask whisky to me. A lot of very good whisky can be considered as the standard for a sherry cask. Glendronoch, Bunnahabhain, Highland Park, Dailuaine, Tamdhu all excellent.
BENCHMARK bourbon cask maturted bottle? Express an opinion. Tell me why, back it up. Don’t be shy. Drink something. Tell me I’m wrong. Form your own opinion.
Queue starts here with Clynelish at the front.
