Whisky Discovery #293

Clynelish 15 Year Old Single Cask Master of Malt (56.1% abv D.02/04/97)

Highland Single Cask Single Malt Whisky

£74.95 70cl (only available from Master of Malt)

I was delighted to receive a very generous package of whisky samples from the Master of Malt single cask collection. In all eleven expressions were received safely at Whisky Discovery HQ in the superb packaging that Master of Malt are renowned for.

I decided I would need a plan in order to review these in a timely manner and immediately lined all eleven samples up in age order, is this OCD? After opening this Clynelish I started wondering if perhaps I should have lined them up alphabetically, but it was too late, I'd opened the first bottle, and registered the 'discovery' in the Liquid Log.

Clynelish is a distillery I've had little exposure so far, however it was a Clynelish that is registered as the 'acorn' sowing the seed of this whisky journey in the very beginning, a year before I bought my first bottle of whisky. I've sampled the Distillers Edition in my local Cambridge Wine Merchants and a 'Distillery Only' edition at Whisky Live last year, but haven't even tried their core expression yet.

This 15 Year Old is one from the latest Single Cask Range, and is said to be a fruity number bottled by  Master of Malt from a Refill Hogshead after fifteen years of cask maturation. Just 225 bottles resulted bottled at 56.1% abv

Tasting Note by The Chaps at Master of Malt

Nose: Stem ginger and waxy fruit aromas initially, followed by fresh lemon and orange notes with some ripe pear and apricot with time in the glass.

Palate: This is a mouth-coating dram with tropical fruit flavours, notably melon and mango with a little peach sweetness at the back.

Finish: A fruit salad of peach, lychee, raspberry and dried apricot. Delicious and lingering.

Overall: Clynelish doing what Clynelish does best. This is a fruit-forward whisky with the merest hint of the Scottish coastline.

So What Did We Think?

Cracking open the wax seal and pouring myself a small dram I was reminded of sweet jelly beans initially! However once exposed to air it quickly settled down and my notes were remarkably similar to the Master of Malt notes above. I wrote in my notebook; fresh ginger, fresh and fruity, citrus fruits followed by apricot and cantaloup, tropical fruits. Returning the empty glass there's heather honey and toffee notes.

On the palate there is an immediate spicy kick which quickly mellows revealing the fruit again, melon and peaches. The mouth feel becomes smooth and creamy and I tweeted 'peaches and cream, dusted with black pepper' The sweet peaches and spice slowly fade away and I picked up a lovely faint aniseed flavour as a light saltiness finishes the experience.

Want one? Best be quick then as there were only 225 bottles to begin with. You can find out more and buy it here: Master of Malt Clynelish 15 Year Old