Clynelish 23 Years Old 1965 Dumpy Bottle, black label (Cadenhead’s)

Scotland's oldest independent bottler Cadenhead's bottled this Clynelish, a 23 year old, distilled in 1965, bottled at 51.7%. Clynelish, built in 1967 beside the old Brora distillery, is known for its signature waxy texture. A coastal maturation lends a faint brine to the waxy, oily spirit.

It was run through copper stills on Clynemilton Burn water, for the famous waxy texture at its heart. A refill bourbon hogshead held it, keeping the waxy character to the fore. Through the evaporative decades the oils concentrate, lactones and esters folding into mango, beeswax and a coastal salt. Clynelish wax and a maritime salt run through the maturing spirit. Clynelish sits on the North Sea coast at Brora, in the far north east of the Highlands. Water comes from the Clynemilton Burn, the spirit drawn off three wash and three spirit stills. Long ageing turns the fresh lemon towards candied orange, beeswax and tropical fruit.

At its natural 51.7% it is concentrated. Beeswax, honey and a coastal freshness, with a soft vanilla from the oak. The mouthfeel is oily, the citrus carried on a waxy body. Citrus, wax and a faint brine see out the finish. This is the famously waxy Highland malt of Clynelish.