Review #103: Clynelish 16yr 1996/2012, 52.3%, Whiskyman and Lindores, refill bourbon hogshead, 239 bottles

looking for the wax

It seems like it's been a while since I've had any Clynelish; I'm not sure that's true. My current worry is that Clynelish will become a generic apple/hay/vanilla malt, and lose its distinctive character. But this one is from 1996, so it should be safe.

nose: some sour apples, some nice dark smoke, mown grass, a little linseed oil ... and then finally opens up to to some nice sweet beeswax. (it actually didn't take that long.) still quite smoky, and has some nice Loire-wine notes, too.

palate: beautifully waxy palate, grass and smoke are very sharp in contrast, with lots of malt sugars and honey, bitter herbs, a little lemon pepper.

finish: long, more of the same.


I could imagine someone not liking this -- maybe it's not fruit enough or smoky enough or needs more flavors. But I can't imagine me not liking it.

score: 88