Clynelish 15 Year Old 1997 The Whiskyman

When you spot this bottle in the stores, you would think that it is an older bottling. The bottle sports a classic looking label that invokes ‘quality’. But make no mistake, this was only bottled this year, selected by Clynelish aficionado Dominiek Bouckaert for his own ‘The Whiskyman’ label. The little caricature of Dominiek gives it away. Pleasant label, if you ask me. Surely, the whisky will be equally pleasing.

The nose immediately confirms the prejudice: this is great Clynelish. Soft and accessible, waxy and fruity. I am reminded of crystallized lime, oranges and quite a bit of fugde. Some wonderful touches of flints and wet grass shine through. The influence of the sherry cask is limited to some marzipan, but it takes some patience to detect it.

The attack is pretty spicy, but not burning, despite the fairly high ABV. Again very waxy, which is nice. Immediately some juicy notes of bitter fruit emerge as the primary flavor. Grapefruit. Crispy, though, as if I have bitten on the kernel. Again the sherry influence is minimal, except for some oak. A bit of tonic, as well. Add water, you say? You think I am crazy? No way!

The finish is wonderfully long and sharp as a blade.

It was to be expected. This is a wonderful whisky. Around 60 EUR, so very much recommended. By the way, the very same whisky (on 180 bottles) was offered as the festival bottling at the Dutch Whisky Leiden 2012 show. It sold out, rightfully so!

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