I had, until recently, never heard of the C. Dully Selection, but it turns out to be a bottler from Switzerland. They’re trying to supply their friends and customers with old fashioned styles of whisky. The likes of which are harder and harder to find.

Apparently they’ve already bottled quite a few Scotch whiskies, but also Bourbon, Cognac and Pineau des Charentes. It sounds interesting, and I never regret finding bottlers like this. Of course, the proof will be in the pudding and since this is my first bottling it might give me an idea of what they are releasing but it’s not proof of a ‘house style’ yet. Sample size n=1 is not really significant.

This ‘Highland Single Malt’ is from Clynelish. I don’t know where that knowledge comes from but it doesn’t seem to be a secret. It being from Clynelish, and it being from 1996 AND from a refill bourbon cask makes me really excited to try this. Serge, from Whiskyfun tried it and rated it 90 points. This made me even more excited about it, so let’s just dive in!

Sniff:
An absolutely gorgeous combination of apples and candle wax. Honey and lichen, slightly warming with a hint of vanilla and tree bark. Wood mulch, pastry cream, apple crumble. The waxiness is very much present, as well as notes of gorse and honey.

Sip:
The palate brings quite a punch. There’s a lot of peppery heat but it might have been more fiery when it wasn’t this waxy. Candles, leather, waxy apples. The sweetness of apples too, with a note of honey and hay. Some vanilla and pastry too.

Swallow:
The finish initially ramps up the heat before settling down. When it does, there’s a little bit of dryness, lots of apple and pear too. The finish is really long, with the wax and sweet apple lingering longest.

This is about as ‘Clynelish’ as Clynelish gets. Of course, there’s a bit of vanilla in there to disclose that it’s a more modern approach than the mid eighties-and-before style but there’s no harm in that in this case.

It’s a tremendously delicious whisky that showcases the rich waxiness of the distillery very well. And let’s be honest, that’s what we’re all about with Clynelish.

90/100