the more I drink Clynelish 14...

[patrick dicaprio]

the more i think it is absolutely one of the worlds best!. IT is so good it may be challenging Islay superiority for me!

Pat

[hpulley]

It IS really good and it may challenge some of the lighter islays but the south shore still offers a more powerful whisky if that is your desire.

Harry

[patrick dicaprio]

i didnt mean in the sense of smokiness, but on my personal list of favorites the list is dominated by Islay whiskies. I have yet to have a whisky with a similar taste profile (where does the mustard come from??)

Pat

[andrewfenton]

If you like both Clynelish and Islay whiskies, try the cask strength Springbank10. It's pretty cheap for a 57% vol (32 pounds in Scotland), has an oily fruitiness in the initial palate that is similar to Clynelish, and then a long and delicious seaweed/salty finish. Terrific stuff.

[islayjunkie]

thanks for the tip!

I love Clynelish 14yo... stocking up now in case of a price hike

[Deactivated Member]

I like Clynelish too and Patrick if you can find one try the South African Sherry version from Signatory, absolutely delicious....

Cheers,

Erik

[hpulley]

I had Clynelish 14yo AFTER Ardbeg 10yo last night and it is of sufficiently full nose and body to stand right up to the Islay. It is not as smoky or peaty as the Ardbeg but at equal ABV it held its ground just fine. Both very enjoyable drams and ones I plan on keeping around so as you say, a backup of Clynelish 14yo is in order (I know I can always get another Ardbeg 10yo).

Harry

[Deactivated Member]

Why, I'm drinking a Clynelish 14 at this very moment (at least, between keystrokes). I put Clynelish off for a long time because I had an idea that the Brora was far superior. I love my old Broras, but was more than pleasantly surprised by the Clynelish, and was very pleased when it became available in the US. If I had a bar for entertaining, it would be a staple. (A moot point, since I don't actually have any friends. )

[Deactivated Member]

Mr Tattiefield,

Just try some independent expressions from Clynelish, you would be surprised by it. Ofcourse try to select the better ones. I believe that Diageo is trying to get a older age of Clynelish on the market.

Cheers,

Erik

[Lawrence]

A line up of various ages of Clynelish would be very popular,

Huurman do you have any idea of the possible age of any new release?

[Deactivated Member]

Hi Lawrence,

So far no idea, but when I know I'll drop you a wee note.

Cheers,

Erik

[Lawrence]

Thanks Eric, your 'ear' to the ground close to the industry is appreciated,

Lawrence

[andrewfenton]

Has anyone here tried the Signatory 20yr (1983/2003) Clynelish? As usual with Signatory it's great value, but you never know the quality till you open them (having said that, the best whisky I've ever tasted was two Sig Highland Park bottlings).

[Deactivated Member]

Indeed Andrew, look out for the Signatory stuff. Great value for money. The best Clynelsih from them I ever tasted was a South African Sherry Butt (the CS and de 43 version both were great).

Cheers,

Erik

[Admiral]

Mr Tattieheid,

I've compared a few Broras and Clynelishes, (now that's a sidetrack...what's the plural for Clynelish?), particularly various SMWS bottlings, and I've found both to be amazingly consistent.

I used to favour Brora also, but I suspect this was more out of respect or reverence for the older expressions, or simply out of sympathy that it had closed down. However, assess any Clynelish on its own merits, and I believe it becomes apparent that the newer distillery is the equal of its sibling.

Cheers,
Admiral

[Deactivated Member]

Well one thing is for sure, I'll pass the Brora and Clynelish Distillery anyway this Summer. If I find some good stock I'll let you people know

Cheers,

Erik

[andrewfenton]

OK, thanks. I'll buy the Sig Clynelish 20yr at my next visit, and let you folks know what it's like.

[Deactivated Member]

Mr Tattieheid,

I've compared a few Broras and Clynelishes, (now that's a sidetrack...what's the plural for Clynelish?)

Why, Clyneslish, of course. "Slopes of the garden".

I have several bottles each of Clynelish and Brora and am looking forward to comparing them over the next year or so.

Brora 24 Rare Malts 56.1% 0.70 G&M
Brora 26 Old & Rare 54.9% 0.70 Laing
Clynelish 12 60.2% 0.75 Cadenhead's
Clynelish 14 'Advance Sample' 50.0% 0.20 Laing
Clynelish 14 OB 46.0% 0.75

[Admiral]

OK....now you're just teasing us!

If at all possible, try and track down an older bottling of Clynelish as well, e.g. 20+ years.

There's a few 31yo bottlings of SMWS Clynelish around at the moment - these are just stellar.

Cheers,
Admiral

[Deactivated Member]

And now you're teasing me in return--I'd love to join the SMWS, but I'm not sure it would be economically prudent for me. (You will no doubt be incredulous after toting up the value of the above bottles...but we all allocate resources in different ways.)

[Lawrence]

Join and enjoy, it's that simple.

[islayjunkie]

MrTattieHeid, how do you rate Clynelish 14y OB compared to other Clynelish?

[Deactivated Member]

islayjunkie, I'm not in a position to make a judgment. Aside from the bottle of 14 OB which I am now very much enjoying, I've only had a taste of the Cadenhead's, when I was at the Bow Bar in Edinburgh in October. I think I had a couple other Clynelishes there, my first experience with it, but I had quite a lot of things there in four days and it's all a bit of a blur! All I can tell you for sure about the Cadenhead's is that I was sufficiently impressed to run down to the Cadenhead's shop the next day and grab a bottle, despite already having about eight bottles to bring home. They said I got the last one in the shop. I don't know when I will open it, but I think I will open the Laing 'Advance Sample' soon, and will report then.

[hpulley]

Which 12yo Clynelish from Cadenhead's was that? I feel like I've asked the question before... I really enjoyed the 1992 (went through 2-3 bottles) and as I've said elsewhere I've looked for the 14yo but with no success and now that Cadenhead's only sells in their own shops, it looks doubtful that I ever will

Harry

[Deactivated Member]

I'm pretty sure you did, Harry, but I don't mind repeating myself. (Do they re-peat whisky?) It's a 1989 bourbon barrel, bottled 10/2001. I'm pretty sure you did, Harry, but I don't mind repeating myself. (Do they re-peat whisky?) It's a 1989 bourbon barrel, bottled 10/2001. I'm pretty sure you did, Harry, but I don't mind repeating myself.....

[hpulley]

Haha, point taken.

I think mine was also a 1989 but was bottled 2002 so was a different one.

Harry

[Deactivated Member]

I still have a few bottles left from the 1989 Signatory South African Sherry Butt and I cherish them at the fullest....

I do like a good Clynelish, I remember I had one from the US series and that was a hell of dram. Great stuff.

Cheers,

Erik

[andrewfenton]

On a separate note, does anyone have a theory on why Clynelish is not highly regarded by most review sites? In general I can find some degree of accord between my opinions, or at least understand that a certain recommended whisky has quality even if I don't like it myself. However almost always you see the Clynelishes being rated in the high 70s, which seems barmy to me........

[Lawrence]

Perhaps this could be due to older bottlings and a recent review has not been done?

[andrewfenton]

Possibly - but it would have to have changed spectacularly over the last two years

[Admiral]

Not necessarily....bear in mind that in Michael Jackson's recent 5th edition of his Companion, the notes and scores from whiskies featured in the 4th edition remained unchanged. So for MJ's book at least, the scores haven't been changed since 1999.

Also, was there actually a Flora & Fauna bottling of Clynelish around back then? From what I've read here, it seems most people seem to think the new Hidden Malts release is a few rungs up the ladder.

Cheers,
Admiral

[andrewfenton]

Well, tbh I don't follow Michael Jackson's tastes that much - he's not up to date enough, and his inability to rate anything labelled Macallan below 92% means he pretty far distant from my tastebuds

I was thinking more of the likes of the maltmadness site (http://www.maltmaniacs.com/matrix/matrix.html) - even with 5 reviews, the Clynelish14 only averaged a score of 82. Two or three of those reviewers have tastes pretty close to mine, so I'm a little confused

[hpulley]

I guess we know what the answer is now to the thread on underrated malts! Brora gets glowing marks but not Clynelish but I've always said how much I like the poor younger brother distillery. I guess its just been hidden in blends for too long to be taken seriously.

Harry

[monkeybrain]

This might be subject to my experience and taste, but I did not find anything "fruity" about Clynelish. I found the after taste somewhat like burnt rubber. Nonetheless, Clynelish is really light but gives you that punch almost like flavored vodka.

[islayjunkie]

This might be subject to my experience and taste, but I did not find anything "fruity" about Clynelish. I found the after taste somewhat like burnt rubber. Nonetheless, Clynelish is really light but gives you that punch almost like flavored vodka.

Or burnt pear maybe? I always detected pear and mellon... mostly pear.

The pear notes and peat play on each other nicely. I suppose I could get rubber out of that but not tire rubber. I've seen many people detect light citrus and floral notes. I get this in the nose a little but not on the tongue.