Clynelish 26 Years Old 1996 Cask #11383 (Signatory)

The Pitlochry bottler Signatory Vintage bottled this Clynelish, a 26 year old, distilled in 1996, from cask 11383, bottled at 53.4%, one of 567 bottles. Clynelish stands on the North Sea coast at Brora, the modern neighbour of the lost Brora distillery. Clynelish sits on the North Sea coast at Brora, in the far north east of the Highlands.

It was made in copper stills for a coastal, waxy make, for the famous waxy texture at its heart. A sherry butt held it, the wood lending raisin and walnut over the wax. Oxidative, evaporative ageing turns the malt deep and waxy, ethereal esters and a faint sotolon (maple). Active wood frames the citrus without smothering the waxy texture. Its waxy character, a candle wax and beeswax texture, is prized above almost any other by blenders. The lost Brora distillery beside it, closed in 1983, was revived by Diageo in 2021.

At its natural 53.4% it is concentrated. An oily wax with citrus and brine, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. The mouthfeel is oily, the citrus carried on a waxy body. The finish is deep, waxy and maritime. This is a waxy, citrussy Highland single malt.