I have absolutely no idea what they mean with a name like “Lively as an Electric Acrobat” or how the SMWS thinks that works for marketing purposes. Then again, they are a members-only club which means they don’t have to market their individual whiskies as much, I guess.

When I bought this, I forgot about it when it was with a friend in the UK. Then I ran out of money and he took it off my hands. Then, a year or two later I re-bought it from him. Weird things.

Anyway, I love Clynelish, I doubt that’s a secret. I don’t generally mind when they’re young, but it generally gets better with age. With 1996 and 1997 being great years for the distillery, I wondered how a younger one would turn out, since I don’t try those as often.

Now I know.

Sniff:
An active bourbon cask, if you ask me. Coconut and sweet citrus. The typical Clynelish waxiness is there, but I doubt you’d find it if you weren’t looking. It’s insanely sharp and very numbing. Later I get crisp vanilla and rosemary custard.

Sip:
SHARP. It’s like drinking razors. It’s sweet because of the alcohol and there’s certainly some oak influence. It’s idiotically sharp, sharper than many a dram at higher ABV I had. My tongue is in shock and it takes a while before I can actually taste anything again. After a while I get some fatty, waxy notes with vanilla and it does get a little bit easier.

Swallow:
The finish mellows quickly, thank God. The vanilla and slightly fatty texture lingers. The rosemary custard I found on the nose returns.

Well. This is a tough one. Both to drink and to rate. I think it’s way too sharp, and that’s not just the ABV. I think the cask imparted some flavors onto the spirit, but I doubt it did much to mellow it. This whisky tastes way sharper than a 60.5% whisky should.

Apart from that, there’s some nice flavors, but it’s not deep and a tad generic. Luckily there’s a bit of a waxy note happening as a redeeming factor. All in all, I’m not a fan.

Quite funny, since Gal is.

80/100

Clynelish 10yo, 2003-2014, 1st Fill Bourbon cask, 60.5%, SMWS, 26.98, Lively as an Electric Acrobat