Clynelish 32 Years Old 1990 Cask #3480 (LMDW)

This Clynelish was bottled by the Paris house La Maison du Whisky, a 32 year old, distilled in 1990, from cask 3480, bottled at 44.3%, one of 110 bottles. Clynelish, on the Sutherland coast, makes one of the most distinctive textures in Scotch, its famous wax. Two old Brora warehouses still stand on the site, a link to its silent neighbour.

Worked through the tall stills for a citrussy, oily spirit, for a maritime spirit with a beeswax richness. First fill bourbon gave a fuller vanilla over the oily spirit. Ethereal and old, decades draw the malt to a waxy, tropical delicacy of sotolon, beeswax and polished oak. Refill oak lets the famous Clynelish wax lead, lemon and honey beneath. Active wood frames the citrus without smothering the waxy texture. A coastal maturation lends a faint brine to the oily, waxy malt. Clynelish sits on the North Sea coast at Brora, in the far north east of the Highlands.

At 44.3% it is soft and waxy. Candle wax, tangerine and a maritime lift, with a soft vanilla from the oak. Orange, beeswax and a maritime salt fill the middle. The finish is deep, waxy and maritime. This is an oily, maritime Highland single malt.