At our last visit to the Hielander Whisky Festival, my father-in-law found another Clynelish he loved. He already has a weak spot for the distillery, and finding an exceptional one is always a treat.

Of course, you don’t spend € 200 on a whim, and by the time he decided he wanted the bottle after all, it had sold out. The search was on for a sister cask with similar statistics. This one is that sister cask.

He was kind enough to give me a sample, and turning forty this week was enough reason to sit dowhn for it.

Sniff:
A very old fashioned waxiness, with age-darkened oak. Dried fruits, but a lighter style of that. More apricot, peach and fig than plums and dates. Some honey sweetness with a more crisp note of pinecones and resin.

Sip:
The palate has a bit of chili heat, but the waxiness and dried fruits make it so that it’s never uncomfortable. Resin, candlewax, dried fruits, some pepper. Oak too, obviously. A hugely complex palate.

Swallow:
The finish keeps the slight heat with some fervor. It makes for an interesting finish that lingers mostly in your mouth, and not so much in your throat. Fruits, wax, resin,oak, pepper.

While I generally avoid sherry cask matured Clynelishes, because I vastly prefer the bourbon cask ones, this one is an exception to that rule. This does everything you want a Clynelish to do, and it does everything you want a sherry cask to do as well.

It wasn’t a hugely active cask, but it did impart flavors of dried fruit and a bit of honey sweetness. The combination with the waxy and resiny Clynelish works a charm. I absolutely love this!

91/100

Still available in various countries, starting at € 240