Clynelish 1993 (Silver Seal) Review


“Silver, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours”

Whisky Review # 856

Country: Scotland
Region: Northern Highlands
Brand: Clynelish 1993
Bottled by: Silver Seal (SS) in November 2012 at Cask Strength -  Bottles: 322
Type: Single Malt Single Cask Scotch Whisky - Cask # 7556
Age: 19 Years
Alcohol By Volume (ABV): 53.5%
Maturation: Ex-Bourbon Cask
Chill Filtration: No
Price Range: Around US$ 240 (January 2020). Will be difficult to find.
Price/Quality Ratio: 😓At the moment it's very expensive. It's good though.
Buying Advice: 👍Nice Fruity Clynelish if you can spare the cash.

Colour: White Whine (Natural Colour)

Nose:

Quite lively and Fruity. This Clynelish is well-matured and the Oak is a mere note in the background. I would not say that Cask 7556 was extremely active. On the Nose this Clynelish shows Sweet, Sour, Musty and a few Funky notes. I wouldn't give it 19 years in a blind Tasting. Quite Fresh!

Main Aromas:

Sweet Barley, German Butter Biscuits, Grass, Fresh Herbs de Provence, Apple, Pear, Lemon, Banana, Bounty Candy Bars, Wax, Asparagus, Salted Almonds, Pepper, Cinnamon, Ginger and Mint.
    
Supportive Aroma Accents:

Buttered Toast, Toffee, Vanilla, Musty Wood, Orange, Grapefruit, Mandarin, Olive Oil, Tobacco and Nail Polisher.



Palate:

Waxy, Spicy, Fruity, slightly Edgy and Bitter-Sweet. Nicely matured Highlander.

Main Flavours:

Malted and Toasted Barley, Apple, Pear, Orange, Lemon, Grapefruit, Banana, Wax, Pepper, Cinnamon, Nutmeg and Ginger.

Supportive Flavour Accents:

Toffee, Salted Caramel, Vanilla, Straw, White Wine, Bounty Candy Bars, Ashes, White Chocolate, Tobacco, Herbal Tea, Asparagus and Coconut.        

Finish:

Middle-Long with Sweet and Sour notes. It's a little Edgy with medium Bitterness towards the end. I find Malted and Toasted Barley, Salty Caramel, Toffee, Apple, Pear, Banana, Nectarine, Orange, Lemon, Grapefruit, Mandarin, Wax, White Chocolate, Tobacco, Musty Oak, Cinnamon, Pepper, Ginger, Nutmeg Ashes and Mint.

Drinking Advice:

Due to the small size of the sample I only tasted this Clynelish neat.

Rating: 86.5

Nose: 22 - Taste: 22 - Finish: 21 - Overall: 21.5

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion:

The distillery was founded in 1819 by the 1st Duke of Sutherland in the small town of Brora. It is owned by Diageo and the spirit is an important ingredient of various JW Blends. It produces around 4,8 million litres of Alcohol per year. Its sister-distillery Brora lies next to Clynelish and will be reopened this year after having been closed in 1983. A new Clynelish Visitor Centre is being built at the moment. The pictures were shot during our visit to Clynelish/Brora in May last year.

This Silver Seal Clynelish is a tasteful well-matured Highland Single Malt. It's a bit Edgy and Funky here and there but that's refreshing in today's mainstream Malt madness. It has character and that's what I'm looking for in a Whisky. At 19 years it can't be cheap of course and there are probably only a few bottles left world-wide. But if you have the cash and can find it somewhere you won't be disappointed. Lots of Fruit out there to be discovered with Citrus in the lead. Recommended!

Cheers!

Jan van den Ende                                                                January 27, 2020

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