Clynelish 28 Years Old 1995 Cask #11250 (Signatory)

A Clynelish of a 28 year old chosen by the Pitlochry bottler Signatory Vintage, distilled in 1995, from cask 11250, bottled at 53.5%, one of 447 bottles. Clynelish is the waxy, maritime Highland single malt at the heart of Johnnie Walker Gold. Two old Brora warehouses still stand on the site, a link to its silent neighbour.

The spirit was distilled from unpeated malt in the distillery's tall stills, for a maritime spirit with a beeswax richness. Maturation in an Oloroso cask laid dried fruit over the oily, coastal malt. Through the evaporative decades the oils concentrate, lactones and esters folding into mango, beeswax and a coastal salt. The waxy, oily spirit takes cask flavour well while keeping its citrus and coast. 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 a full 53.5% it is bold yet waxy. Waxy honey, lemon and a savoury edge, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. Soft citrus and a honeyed wax sit behind the cask. The close is long, wax over a citrus lift. This is the waxy heart of Johnnie Walker Gold.