Clynelish 1993/2010 Distiller's Edition

Purchased in February 2012 and opened at our 1st Annual St. Clynelish's Day Celebration on March 16, 2012. It was brought out again for the 2nd Annual celebration on March 16, 2013, and has since been decanted to a 20cl bottle.

This is a 17 year-old Clynelish which has received a secondary maturation in Oloroso Seco casks and then bottled at 46% ABV (as is the standard Clynelish 14 year-old expression). The bottle code is Cl-Br: 173-5j.

There is minimal inventory remaining at the LCBO (approx 11 bottles as of April 2, 2013), and it is currently priced at $99.55 (CAD) in Ontario, although it is available online for significantly less if you live in a place which allows you to order from online merchants.

For this review I used two 25ml servings: one in my Glencairn 'Canadian' glass, and one in my NEAT glass, and I had a two squares of plain dark chocolate (65% cocoa).

Nose: sherry (no surprise there!), red plums, brown sugar, dark fruitcake (not that light stuff, but the deep, dark, sherry-laden fruitcake with cherries).

Palate: a bit of salt, brine, and wax, as one would expect from a Clynelish, but juxtaposed with brown sugar, raisins, and candied fruit.

Finish: long, sherried, and warming; very satisfying!

Balance: extremely well balanced. The various flavours played off one another, complementing each other beautifully. No one aroma or flavour overpowered the others, and the sherry seemed to be held in check.

When we opened this at the St. Clynelish's Day Celebration in 2012, we paired it with fresh dates wrapped in candied applewood smoked bacon, and it was phenomenal!

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