Clynelish 36 Years (Director’s Special)

The Whisky Show – Old & Rare will take place this weekend in London. Like previous years, there is a show bottling: a Clynelish 36 Year Old, bottled by Elixir Distillers in their Single Malts of Scotland – Director’s Special range.

I’ve heard this was a 1982 vintage, removed from the cask in 2018 and stored for a while before being bottled this year.

Now I was under the impression independent Clynelish could not be named Clynelish any more. It even got me thinking the recent undisclosed Highlanders could be Clynelish (at least they have a similar profile). However Elixir Distillers say there is no ban on using the name, at least not from the distillery, although some brokers may impose different rules. Anyway this is proper Clynelish, the oldest from this era in my book.

Clynelish 36 yo (47,1%, Single Malts of Scotland ‘Director’s Special’ for Whisky Show 2020, 128 btl.)

Nose: all the beeswax, buttercups and pollen you’d expect from a well-aged Clynelish. Also ripe pineapple, juicy apricots and mirabelles. Lemon candles. Vanilla cake and ice cream in the background, as well as hay, a little mint and dried herbs. Also a subtle dustiness (old books) which I like. Quite warm and beyond reproach.

Mouth: yeah. Lots of waxy notes again, mixing nicely with lemon peel and green tea, subtle grassy notes. Fruity notes too: apricots and dried pineapple. Mint and aniseed. Coconut pudding. Drops of honey.

Finish: quite long, with more fruit tea and wax, as well as some zippy oak spice.

A superb Clynelish: complex, with fruits, trademark wax and a nice dusty / mineral side. A must-try if you’re visiting the Show. Update: remaining bottles are now available from The Whisky Exchange.

Score: 92/100