It’s not every day that you try a 35 year old Clynelish. If you think about it, it’s more or less the same age as the legendary 1972s when they hit the market. Signatory Vintage has bottled quite a few of these 1990 casks and today’s bottle is a very recent bottling from the Symington’s Choice series.
Clynelish 35 yo 1990 (42,7%, Signatory Vintage ‘Symington’s Choice’ 2025, bourbon barrel #3476, 95 btl.)
Nose: warm and totally immersive waxy notes. Lots of paraffin and beeswax, along with ripe pineapple notes and some mango candy. Stewed quinces and pears. Sweet mint and dried wildflowers. Then also generous vanilla cake, hints of sweet Pinot Gris and star anise. Some lovely polished oak as well. This is lovely.
Mouth: still really fruity, with apricots, sweet citrus notes and hints of pineapple again. It’s slightly less warm, with a subtle resinous edge and drops of orange blossom water. More beeswax, as well as pollen. Then also acacia honey and mild oak spice, like candied ginger. Subtle hints of earthy tea towards the finish.
Finish: not very long, but a nice combination of faded fruits, mild spicy notes and just a touch of cocoa.
The nose alone deserved a higher score, no doubt. But on the palate it starts to thin out. Bottled right on time. I bought a sample from Whiskysite.nl where they also have full bottles.