TBWC Clynelish 15 Year Old - Batch 3

Today sees another new distillery for me, in the form of Clynelish.

Clynelish is in the Highlands, north of Inverness and further north in Scotland than I've yet been. It was built almost 200 years ago - although production has halted a couple of times over the years - and in the 1960s the 19th century distillery was replaced by the current, modern buildings.

Clynelish 15 Year Old Batch 3 is a pale, 49.3% ABV whisky.

The nose is initially apples in brown sugar, but as it sits in the glass the aromas evolve with orange sherbet and even raisins slowly appearing.

Watered, the fruit fades and exposes a little cut wood and finally I think I can detect the candle wax that often seems to show up in Clynelish tasting notes.

In the mouth it's soft and creamy, with a lot of peppery alcohol heat. It's fruity too, but it's an artificial candy fruit - the closest I can come is Juicy Fruit.

Water pushes the pepper right to the back of the throat, but the fruity nature remains; peaches and cream, with little touches of woody spices in the finish.

Although I think water spoils the aroma a little, it makes it a much more appealing dram on the tongue - but it's pretty tasty either way! 3.5 stars.

Many thanks to Master Of Malt for providing their That Boutique-y Whisky Company Advent Calendar this year.

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This review was originally published 7th December, 2016. It was last updated 1st June, 2023.