Whisky : Clynelish 9 Year SMWS 26.132 “Krupnik and amaretti”

Country/Region : Scotland/Highland

ABV : 59.6%

Cask : First Fill Ex-Bourbon

Age : 9 Years (Distilled 20 Jan. 2010)

Nose : Fruity and rich.  Notes of custard, prunes, honey, almond cookies, and fresh roasted coffee beans.  Hints of dried citrus and lemon candies lingered in the background.

Palate :  Medium bodied and fruity with intriguing bits of chalky minerals and wax.  Almost effervescent with a citrusy acidity, lemonade, and key lime soda.  Fruits and dried berries came through with a lovely maltiness that recalled Fruity Pebbles.  Hints of floral tea, menthol, and chocolate chips hung in the background vaguely reminiscent of Mint Chocolate Chip.

Finish : Lingering waxy fruits with a mild astringency.

Score : 7

Mental Image : Key Lime Pie Green Tea Soda

Notes : I am sure somewhere there is a natural foods company produces a Key Lime Pie Green Tea soda, I could almost swear I have had one.  It is just the sort of hipster crap that draws me in, but whose price usually pushes me out.

This bottle sat in the back of my closet for quite a while.  We originally poured it for our first virtual tasting in April 2020 after covid-19 forced us to suspend in-person festivities.  It sat in my closet for so long because I did not recall really thinking anything about it.  It was not memorably good, it was not strikingly bad.  It was part of an overall weak lineup that I was in no hurry to come back to.

After I dug this out of the closet and poured a dram I felt like I had uncovered buried treasure.  This was absolutely excellent.  The flavor profile was loaded with bright citrusy fruits back by a bouquet of herbal notes in the background.  Even nine months later this dram had a funny, effervescent quality to its initial sharp sweet burst of flavor.  Overall this was really nice, especially to rediscover.  I would put this a bit ahead of the SCN 9 Year Clynelish I also tried recently, though unfortunately I finished that before I rediscovered this and did not get a chance to try them side-by-side.