Clynelish 12 Years Old 2011 Cask #DL 18173 (Old Particular)

A 12 year old Clynelish from the Glasgow bottler Douglas Laing, distilled in 2011, from cask DL 18173, bottled at 48.4%, one of 381 bottles. Clynelish stands on the North Sea coast at Brora, the modern neighbour of the lost Brora distillery. Two old Brora warehouses still stand on the site, a link to its silent neighbour.

Drawn off three wash and three spirit stills, for the famous waxy texture at its heart. First fill bourbon gave a fuller vanilla over the oily spirit. In integration lactones (coconut) and vanillin (vanilla) knit with the wax, lemon deepening to candied orange. The clean, oily spirit shows the cask clearly, vanilla and honey over the wax. It is the heart malt of Johnnie Walker Gold Label, and a sought after single malt in its own right. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and coconut over the wax. The famous wax is said to come from the build up in the distillery's feints receivers.

At its natural 48.4% it is concentrated. Candle wax, tangerine and a maritime lift, with a soft vanilla from the oak. Orange, beeswax and a maritime salt fill the middle. The close is long, wax over a citrus lift. This is a waxy, citrussy Highland single malt.