Clynelish 14 Years Old 2005 Cask #16602103 (Connoisseurs Choice)

From the Elgin house Gordon and MacPhail, a 14 year old Clynelish, distilled in 2005, from cask 16602103, bottled at 55.2%, one of 268 bottles. Clynelish is a waxy, citrussy Highland single malt from the village of Brora. The original Clynelish was founded in 1819 by the Marquess of Stafford during the Highland Clearances.

The spirit was made in copper stills for a coastal, waxy make, to build a waxy, coastal, citrussy spirit. Maturation in an Oloroso cask laid dried fruit over the oily, coastal malt. Integration folds eugenol (clove) and vanillin (vanilla) into the malt, the waxy body oilier and softer. The clean, oily spirit shows the cask clearly, vanilla and honey over the wax. Two old Brora warehouses still stand on the site, a link to its silent neighbour. Long ageing turns the fresh lemon towards candied orange, beeswax and tropical fruit. Clynelish is unpeated, its character built on texture, citrus and coast rather than smoke.

At a natural 55.2% it is full and oily. Beeswax, citrus and a honeyed oil, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. Soft citrus and a honeyed wax sit behind the cask. A long, oily finish ends on lemon and beeswax. This is the cult waxy malt of Brora.