Clynelish 20 Years Old 1983 Mission Selection Number Three (Murray McDavid)

The bottler Murray McDavid selected this Clynelish, a 20 year old, distilled in 1983, bottled at 46%, one of 498 bottles. Clynelish is a coastal Highland distillery at Brora in Sutherland, famous for its waxy single malt. Most of its make goes to blending, with a fourteen year old the flagship single malt.

The spirit was worked through the tall stills for a citrussy, oily spirit, for a maritime spirit with a beeswax richness. Ex-Bourbon casks held it, the soft oak letting the waxy citrus lead. Into oxidative maturity, slow air ingress builds fruity ethyl esters (orange and pineapple) over the deepening wax. The cool, salt laden coastal air works into the maturing casks at Brora. Clynelish is unpeated, its character built on texture, citrus and coast rather than smoke. The clean, oily spirit shows the cask clearly, vanilla and honey over the wax. The slow loss of the angel's share concentrates the waxy, citrussy core over the years.

At 46% it is clean and coastal. A thick wax over orchard fruit and citrus, with a soft vanilla from the oak. The mouthfeel is oily, the citrus carried on a waxy body. It finishes oily, waxy and bright. This is a coastal Highland single malt of rare texture.