Clynelish 29 Year (1984), SMWS 26.102 “Pomaders in a lady’s parlour”
Whisky: Clynelish 29 Year (1984), SMWS 26.102 “Pomaders in a lady’s parlour”
Country/Region: Scotland/Highlands
ABV: 56%
Cask: Refill Sherry Butt
Age: 29 Years (Distilled 13 Dec. 1984, Bottled 2014)
Nose: Fruity and waxy with citrus and orchard fruits, paraffin wax, cream, melon, subtle brine and aged shoyu.
Palate: Medium-bodied, herbal, creamy, spice, and subtle fruits, marshmallow, baking spices, candle wax, apple crumble, waxy fruity candies, a kiss of salt.
Finish: Long and lingering with fruits, sometimes with a fermented sweetness or funk.
Score: 8 (88)
Mental Image: Umami Scented Candle Sticks
Narrative & Notes: The aroma was chock full of fruits— a basket overflowing with pink lady apples, grapefruit, and blood orange. Paraffin wax and cream followed the fruit, lending the impression of birthday cake candles in buttercream frosting, almond tarts, or Fruit by the Foot. Melona appeared as melon joined the party and welcomed a subtle brine and fattiness: otoro with a gentle brushing of barrel-aged shoyu. Medium-bodied, the palate was herbal, creamy, and spicy, with more subtle fruits, primarily apple. Cream soda popped at first, or perhaps a birch beer spiced with chicory, marshmallows followed as baking spices sunk under a rising wave of herbal tarragon and apples. As waxy fruit candies and apple crumble lingered at the end, more candle wax developed with time. The finish was long and lingering with fruits, sometimes tropical, sometimes with a fermented sweetness and funk.
A good friend broke out this bottle for a celebratory whisky tasting: celebrating anniversaries, the return of another good friend, and a quiet afternoon tasting that had been rescheduled too many times. I found all of the wax and fruit I could possibly want on this Clynelish, though it lacked the same garden mustiness and earth that I fell in love with on several Clynelish I tried last year. I enjoyed the “umami” salt and brine on the nose and the birch or cream soda on the palate, but I was hoping for more depth and complexity on a nearly three-decade-old Clynelish. Really, though, those are minor quibbles in the grand scheme of things.
Overall, a deliciously special bottle with which to celebrate.
About Clynelish
An essential malt. Official distillery releases are accessible and a gateway to the eccentricities of releases from independent bottlers. Releases have been generally available and common, though, at least in the case of independent bottlers, that may have already begun to change as the distillery holds onto more whisky to support its own products during the ongoing whisky boom.
Clynelish opened in 1819, but wait, that is the wrong Clynelish… Imagine there was a distillery called Clynelish, and then a new distillery was built next door, also called Clynelish. That was precisely what happened in 1967 when Clynelish B opened next to Clynelish A, sometimes called Old Clynelish and New Clynelish or Clynelish 1 and 2. The confusing situation did not last long, as Old Clynelish was mothballed in 1968 and reopened to a limited extent in 1969 under the name Brora. However, this was not entirely a new name, as locals had long used it to refer to the old distillery.
The distillery ranks among Scotland's top 25 largest by theoretical capacity. It might very well be getting close to producing 4.8 million liters annually, as the distillery currently operates seven days a week. Even with the constant production, it maintains an 85-hour fermentation regime for the malt, which allows more of the fruitier, sometimes even tropical, flavors to emerge. Notably, Clynelish underwent extensive renovations and refurbishment in 2017, after which some of the waxy character, for which the distillery is well-known, disappeared. After about six months, it came back and within a year was in line with the pre-renovation spirit, so it will be interesting to compare new and old spirit, or malts from the intermediate period in late 2017-early 2018.
Style: Citrus, Honey, Wax, Grassy, occasionally Coastal
