Granville 2000 MBa No. 156 (Maltbarn)

A 20 year old Clynelish from the bottler Maltbarn, distilled in 2000, bottled at 54.9%, one of 100 bottles. Clynelish stands on the North Sea coast at Brora, the modern neighbour of the lost Brora distillery. The lost Brora distillery beside it, closed in 1983, was revived by Diageo in 2021.

It was run through copper stills on Clynemilton Burn water, building the cult Clynelish waxiness. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, the wood adding a light honeyed vanilla. At oxidative maturity aldehydes and esters lend tropical fruit while ellagitannins add a drying grip to the waxy malt. A coastal maturation lends a faint brine to the oily, waxy malt. Clynelish wax and a maritime salt run through the maturing spirit. Long ageing turns the fresh lemon towards candied orange, beeswax and tropical fruit. The clean, oily spirit shows the cask clearly, vanilla and honey over the wax. The wax sits at the heart of the spirit, the cask building fruit and honey around it.

At its natural 54.9% it is concentrated. Beeswax, citrus and a honeyed oil, with a soft vanilla from the oak. A lemon, a brine and a thick wax lift it. The finish runs waxy, coastal and clean. This is the cult waxy malt of Brora.