Whisky : Clynelish 8 Year; SMWS 26.129 “Pineapple ramen”

Country/Region : Scotland/Highland

ABV : 57.8%

Cask : First Fill Ex-Bourbon

Age : 8 Years (Distilled 24 Sept. 2010)

Nose : Absolutely bursting with fruit and syrup: peach nectarines, lilikoi-passion fruit, papaya, pineapple, and honey dew melon.  Flaming bananas foster, blue Hawaii syrup, and coconut rich pina colada promise dessert and drinks.  Hints of salt come through with gyoza sauce and fried ube rolls.

Palate : Coconut, pineapple, lilikoi and cottage cheese ride forward on a waxy medium body.  Coconuts rain down: coconut husks, coconut milk, coconut flavored candies and a healthy dose of blue vanilla syrup.  Pandan candies, salty broth, vinegar, and cedar notes appear near the end along with a bit of dryness.

Finish : Lingering pina colada with salt.

Score : 5

Mental Image : Death by Coconut

Something Better : Ardmore 12 Year SMWS 66.141 (similar tropical fruit/coconut, but on fire)

Something Worse : Allt-A-Bhainne 23 Year Jack Wieber (similar fruit, less intensity, more earthy notes)

Notes :  The flavors on this were absolutely lovely— but boy was this ever way too hot and spirited.  It was almost mouth numbing with its youthful spirit, which is crazy because the abv. was not all that high.  Even a few drops of water were not enough to bring this beast under control.

I really enjoyed the tropical fruits and lovely Clynelish wax quality that came through.  The variety of coconut and syrup notes on the profile were unique— yet the finish was a bit too quick and a salty astringency built too much on the end.  I did like this, but it likely could have used another year or two in the cask.

A fan of Clynelish or fruity malts should find this a lot of fun— it held up well on the rocks, though you do not usually buy a single cask whisky to enjoy on the rocks.  This was probably most fun to use for some home blending— it balanced well against some more mature malts that needed a bit more complexity and bright flavor notes.