Review by: The Muskox

This is review 2/6 of the SMWS’s December 2023 outturn, which I tasted alongside my man rye_am_legend at the venerable Jack Rose Dining Saloon in Washington, D.C. We tried these whiskies blind, so all my notes and my score are pre-reveal. Apologies for briefer notes than usual – we tried quite a pile of whiskies that evening!

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Distillery: Clynelish.

Bottler: Scotch Malt Whisky Society.

Region: Highlands.

ABV: 61.2%. Cask strength.

Age: 10 years. Distilled October 23rd 2012. Bottled in 2023.

Cask type: First-fill bourbon barrel.

Price: N/A, tasting.

Color: Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.

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Nose: Sweet, floral, and spirity. Banana candies, white cherry, icing sugar, and a little bubblegum. There’s an herbal sweetness here, almost like sweet vermouth of all things.

Palate: Light texture, drying. Arrives with loads of salt, more icing sugar and cherries, and cloves. A little fresh wood on the development, as well as salted licorice. I added a little water to this one, which brought a slightly fuller texture, banana, sugar snap peas, and a little soap.

Finish: Medium, slightly short. Baking spices, hay, more tea, malt, and apples.

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Possible SMWS bottling name: “Homer’s improvised breakfast”

Conclusion: Not my favourite at all. It tastes overly young and spirity, slightly rough, and it has that banana candy note that I don’t like so much. There’s interesting complexity here, but I feel like the dram sort of fails to come together.

We were given five options for which distillery this whisky could be – Old Pulteney, Auchentoshan, Glen Ord, Tullibardine, and Clynelish. When I first nosed this, I got banana and icing sugar and thought “this is 100% Auchentoshan.” Then I tasted it, got walloped with salt, and thought, “this is 100% Pulteney”. I didn’t get enough grass to think Glen Ord, or any wax or melon to suggest Clynelish.

Final Score: 74.

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Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
• 50-59: Save it for mixing.
• 0-49: Blech.