Hi again. Let’s not dilly dally, and jump right in, shall we? Time is tight tonight, I may have spent a little too long tossing the kettlebells and stretching around…
Clynelish 14
Brora, Sutherland, Scotland
$73.99
46% / 92 Proof
Nose - Remarkably sweet and floral with notes of pears, brine, and light citrus. There’s a lot you can pull from this fragrance, and it’s particularly gentle nature makes it all the more pleasurable to enjoy before going straight to tasting.
Palette - Up front is a very herbal, citrus note that is flushed by brine and stinging salt and seafoam, as if in the bottle they’ve captured the essence of might Neptune himself.
Finish - The finish here is extremely unexpected, and pulls a 180 from the gentle nature of the nose, catching me quite off guard. It’s a biting, stingy bastard at first, that quickly peters down and smooths out to an enjoyable dram after a violent tantrum.
Thoughts - Being a bit tired and in a hurry, I think it’s fair to say I didn’t do this bottle quite the justice it deserves in the straight profiles of the whisky, so let me get more involved here in a bit of a gonzo-esque story mode. The Clynelish is a ravaging beast not dissimilar to the old-timers sentiment of woman; that is, she is beautiful and teasing on the outside, with a violent and cruel heart waiting within. I’m sure we’ve all been there, and the stereotype certainly shouldn’t be applied only to those of the more beautiful of sexes, but the thought it stands by to this day, in poetically romantic disdain.
I might be digging too deeply into negative emotion with those associations, and the bottle certainly doesn’t deliver any defeating blows; quite the opposite. It’s quite the lovely sipper for it’s approachable nature and vicious finishing touch. It can keep you going up and down on a sadistic roller coaster of sweet and sting, delivering full-heartedly in the versatile and complex nature you’d expect in a $70+ Scotch. It’s a concrete investment that’s to be treasured and approached with caution, but once associated, can take you on a wild ride if the night is right - full moons permitting.