Clynelish 22 Year Old 1992 Blackadder Raw Cask

This Clynelish was bottled by Blackadder and matured for 22 long years on a bourbon hogshead. I have put a bit of water ready, since this is bottled at no less than 62,1% ABV. That begs the question if it were put to sleep at a much higher ABV than the industry standard of 63,5%. Let us get to it!

Beeswax, honey, candy floss, lemon and the skin of apples. That is the nose of this Clynelish in a nutshell. Almond shavings that turn into nougat. Softer than expected, to be honest. Barely any spices. The alcohol level is not noticeable on the nose. After some five minutes it really starts to smell like those wonderful Café Noir cookies. Adding water barely makes a change.

Even on the palate, it is not really an alcohol bomb. Well, surely it is very powerful and spicy, but provided you sip and do not gulp, it is quite drinkable. I get more mineral elements now as well as a truckload of citrus and sultanas. Some tonic. It remains nicely sweet on sugar candy and some caramel. Diluted it is more accessible, but the profile remains the same.

It lingers amazingly long in the finish.

A sweet powerhouse that really hit the spot for me, but 155 EUR is not cheap. Luckily you can add quite a bit of water if you want. It swims like a champ.

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