Clynelish 14 years old

Clynelish 14 years old

A review by Tommy Byrne

Overall rating: 8/10 (Single Malt notation)

Clynelish is to Johnnie Walker’s Gold Label what Ardmore is to Teachers Highland Cream.  Both Highlands distilleries produce a lot of whisky, but bottles only around 5% of its production under its own name. Clynelish is present is most Johnny Walker Labels, but it is the main malt used blending the Gold Label.

Colour wise, Clyneslish 14 years old has a golden coat. This whisky is all about its nose, very close to a cognac. It’s very creamy, floral and delicate with subtle hints of a fruit market (and or basket!), vanilla, lemon ice tea and some smokiness. Very dry and oaky, the palate doesn’t follow up to the nose aside from the obvious bourbon cask. This is sad, but at least the finish is strong and persistent.

After nosing the whisky, while knowing what we know about its main use, I automatically made a strong sensorial connection between Clynelish and Johnnie Walker Gold Label.  It’s the almost exact same creamy delicate smoothness, but after tasting it, I understood why it’s usually blended with grain whisky. The palate of the two whiskies is very different. Even if apparently there’s a certain amount of people devoted to Clynelish arguing its masterful craftsmanship, I would only recommend this whisky to make the fun comparison with its Johnnie Walker’s cousin.