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Looks older than 14 years. And is unmistakably a Clynelish. And yes, there is alcohol in it ;)

The smell is initially quite alcoholic and flat. Time and air help the nose on the jumps, water rather not. That at most softens the rather tart and spicy taste. It takes a lot of getting used to, a bit like a pitched-up Glenfarclas. 4th Fill seasoning or would you chew on ginger. As written: water helps. 76 pts is really hard, 88-90 but also ...

Pleasant sweet dram, vanilla and oranges, some kind of chalky character. Abv suits well.

very alcoholic, sherry influence is not noticeable - this must have been a very inactive, dead cask. You would blindly guess that it was a very young malt. An absolute disappointment for the stated age

Very nice dram. Clearly recognizable as Clynelish…love it.

I seldom had a malt in the glass in which the alcohol was so badly integrated for me, both in the nose and in the mouth. It actually covers everything, so that I can hardly see anything else. Different glasses were used, longer time to breathe today, a little water the first time - none of it helps. The base notes promise a lot better, but unfortunately for me this is a complete disappointment.

Secret Highlands from a Sutherland Distillery? This could be an independently bottled Clynelish. Is that recognizable? Here in the base this whisky is rated well. 14 years refill sherry hogshead - the color is rather light. The color could also be a bourbon release. Mmh, I wouldn't suspect Sherry here at first. This whisky has bright fruit aromas, it has pear aromas, not the ripe juicy pear but more of a hard peel and some bitterness. Even 14 years would not have been here on the first (or second...) impression. In the nose I also have more of the fruits, pear and hard, white peach, plus there are also rather tart to bitter notes. Where's the sherry? I also miss the sherry in the taste. That could pass as bourbon aging. But 14 years? The Clynlish from the Core Range has 14 years. And sorry, I'm missing the typical Clynelish flavors here. waxiness? I have bittersweet peariness. There is no sweetness, the whisky is dry to bitter, astringent. The finish is also more dry. Yes, that's not very young - but the Clynelish waxiness is missing here. And the wood tones are old and worn. I have no idea where the high ratings come from here in the base. I wouldn't recognize a 14 year old here, I wouldn't recognize a Clynelich here and I wouldn't recognize a sherry here. And no, I wouldn't recognize a great whisky here either. As is the colour, as are the aromas - this whisky comes from casks that have been filled too often and only have a few sherry aromas left. It didn't mature well, sorry.

Nose: citrus, wax, honey, sparkling, a few dates, figs and raisins, floral and somewhat grassy, oranges, apples - great nose! Palate: tangy and tingling, citrus, orange, honey, a few dates and figs, wax, apples, some sharpness from the not so well integrated alcohol Finish: sparkling, medium-long, waxy and citrus Evaluation: the nose is great, the rest is "only" good; it sparkles in a tour and has wax, citrus and a few notes of sherry (dates and figs) to offer. It has something, but it just misses the rating "very good" because of the not so well integrated alcohol.

I find the whisky really exciting, although it's far from perfect and had a lot of fun finding out what that could be. It has hints (slight waxiness) of a Clynelish but isn't as floral. I put the 14 standard next to it. The cask had an exciting influence and the sherry only had a very subtle, for me very good influence on the whisky and gives the whisky character. In addition, many notes of a dark, older bourbon maturation. Complex flavors. Maybe not the cleanest or tastiest whisky, but one I enjoy so much more than a plain bore that's just tasty. I wouldn't yet call its rough edges bad grades and was therefore able to enjoy it very much. I would rule out a Pulteney (HP anyway) and bet on either a stronger Dalmore with a lot of wood influence or a Glen Ord.

[November 2022] A quick review of a sample... ...which is another almost completely leached cask maturation with not sherry flavours left at all. Any leached cask supports the maturation of a whisky very limited only, hence the profile smells rather young and still somewhat immature. A good cask maturation is very expensive these days hence many IB's have to go for such problematic casks instead (which is not their fault).

Retail price: 75-80€ According to some not so subtle hints, this is Clynelish. A nice surprise! Blind I would have thought that this has to be older than 14yo. Besides its colour, the caskinfluence is clearly there.

In the Whisky-Doris instructions it was said that this single malt should be given plenty of time to breathe so that all the aromas can develop. So tearing open the bottle and trying it right away is user error and not the fault of the product.

yeast party! :) Contrary to some of the notes here, I find that he looks younger than 14 years, not older. And you have to like it tart to spicy, especially on the palate. Urgently needs water (or alternatively a lot of air), but it can't really be balanced that way either. In and of itself I like the style, but more so with older malts. The moderate maturing time was not enough here to sand down the very rough edges.

Orange peel, heathland, grassy, flowery, malt, honey, wax. Warming, somewhat lively, although 53.2% the body tends to appear thin and watery. The nose offers more than the palate and finish can offer.

Very tasty and typical Clynelish for a reasonable price.

50+2+9+10+3

I already had better clynelish;)