Clynelish was initially licensed to Ainslie & Heilbron (Distillers) Ltd
from Glasgow and became the property of United Distillers in 1986.
UD merged with IDV in 1998 to form UDV, which is part of Diageo.

This profile is dedicated to the 'new' Clynelish distillery, AD1968.
The old Clynelish distillery is now known as Brora and was built in
1819 by the Marquess of Stafford. You can find more information
about Brora in the Silent Stills section, this profile contains data
on the new distillery built just across the street in 1967 by SMD.
When the new distillery (circa three times larger than the first)
went into operation the old one was re-named after the town.

Here's a selection of the Clynelishes (yes, that seems to be the plural) I've tasted so far.

Clynelish 11yo 1989/2001 (56.7%, Signatory Vintage, South-African sherry butt #3233)
Additional details: Distilled 17/5/1989, bottled 15/02/2001. There's also cask #3241 bottled in 2002.
Nose: Very strange. Sherry - but not as we know it. Unlike anything else I've tried so far.
The character is composed of a strange mixture of sherry and bourbon characteristics.
It really opens up with a few drops of water, becoming very rich. Sweeter with time.
Taste: A big burn. Bittersweet. Chewy. Oaky. Fruity? This is a very special malt.
Score: 80 points - Very intruiging. Maybe it's the South-African sherry butt?

Clynelish 13yo 1990 (59.3%, Blackadder Raw Cask, Cask#3593, Sherry Finish).
Nose had peat - and lots of it. This could very well be the peatiest Clynelish I've tried so far.
Sweetness & organics. Sweaty. Roasted coffee beans. It loses some of its impact over time.
Taste: Ssurprisingly potent as well; a punch of peat followed by an ultra dry finish. Lovely!
Score: 90 points - Simply fabulous

Clynelish 1989/2002 (46%, Wilson & Morgan, Bourbon Barrel)
Nose: Smooth and creamy start, growing grainier, then sweeter. A tad grassy. Holly?
Fresh. Apple? No, a young pear - not quite ripe yet. Subtle spices. Surprisingly gentle.
Taste: Something fruity - but this is no whimpy whisky. Clean and straightforward. Light but firm.
Score: 83 points - A fine dram, but like other Clynelish bottlings it could be a little more 'extreme'.

Clynelish 1989/2003 (46%, Wilson & Morgan, Marsala Finish)
Nose: Light and very fruity. More coastal notes and organics float to the surface.
Fruit cake. Mellow. Many subtle and spicy surprises hiding behind the wall of fruits.
After some five minutes more organics appear. Maybe even a faint hint of smoke?
Palate: Sweet. Gentle woody notes. Quite dry in the centre. Cranberries? Nice!
Just as it seems to settle down into mellow fruits it comes back with a spicy punch.
Score: 85 points - up from an original 82 points. This one really gets better with time.
I'm certainly not against exotic finishes if it produces malts like this. Good work.

Clynelish 14yo (46%, OB, Bottled +/- 2003)
Nose: Malty and creamy. Sherry and organics. Developing sweetness. Spices. Smoke.
Opens up a little with time, but doesn't choose sides. The slightest hint of peat pops up.
Taste: Dry and hot start, mellowing out into a sour centre. Some liquorice. A bit flat.
Little development after that; the taste just slowly fades away in a winey, bitter finish.
Score: 77 points - I have to admit I expected a bit more from the successors of Brora.
I have to say the nose grew on me with time, so maybe the bottle just needs to break in.

Clynelish 14yo (43%, Flora & Fauna, Bottled +/- 2000)
Nose: Malty and grainy at the same time. Some coastal traits under a sherry coating.
Some of these F&F bottlings seem to have a style that overwhelms the distillery character.
Taste: Gritty and dry at first. Woody elements don't mix very well with the rest.
Score: 76 points - Slightly better than average; nothing more and nothing less.

Clynelish 18yo 1983 (46%, Benivor / W. Milroy, Bottled +/- 2002)
Nose: Polished. Light. Quite coastal in character, but not very powerful.
Some light fruity elements, developing into a more organic complexity. Quite nice.
Taste: Quite smooth at first. Then a slow sweet burn develops, growing drier. Chloride?
Prickles like a soft drink. A dash of water seems to bring out the dry, coastal elements.
And then I got a hint of honey liquorice again; could this be one of the 'marker's of Clynelish?
Score: 80 points - in the end it reaches 'recommendable' territory.

Clynelish 28yo 1976/2004 (46%, Murray McDavid Mission IV, 600 bottles)
Nose: Hey, surprisingly peaty! No wait, it quickly becomes smokier. Very powerful in the nose.
Smoke and diesel over a fruity undercurrent. Hint of leather? Nicely polished. Peanuts? Hubba Bubba?
Don't finish your glass too quickly, though - after fifteen minutes it grows notably more complex. Nice...
Taste: Some smoke in the start. More smoke in the centre, followed by wood and fruits. Smoky finish.
Every now and then the smoke is driven into the background by brief flashes of peat. Faint liquorice.
Score: 90 points - one of the most potent Clynelishes I've tried so far. A real smoke monster.
Bonus points for character. In a blind test I would probably guessed this was an old Glen Garioch.
Make sure to sniff your empty glass - that's quite a treat as well.
 

Check out my Track Record for a complete and up-to-date overview of all 'siplings' I've tried.
 
 
 

The new distillery may have taken over the Clynelish name, but not its habits.
Brora is famous as one of the very few Highland distilleries that still used heavily peated malt for their whisky. To the dismay of peatheads around the world the new Clynelish distillery produces a much lighter style of whisky. While most bottlings of Brora do very well on the Malt Maniacs Matrix the opinions about the average bottling of Clynelish tend to be more divided. Members of 'the wine brigade' who appreciate subtlety usually enjoy a Clynelish more than some of the 'Nordic' maniacs who prefer stronger flavours.

The 14 years old official bottling depicted at
the left was released in 2003 to replace the
semi-official 'Flora & Fauna' bottling which was
also bottled at 14yo. Clynelish was included
in Diageo's 'Classic Malts Selection' in 2005,
along with (among others) Caol Ila, Cardhu ,
Glen Ord, Knockando and Royal Lochnagar.

Trivia about Clynelish:  Out of dozens of active distilleries owned by Diageo (27 in 2006), only three have a higher production capacity than Clynelish's 3,400,000 litres; Caol Ila, Glendullan and Dufftown.

As the sole representative of the coastal East region on Diageo's new
distillery map, it mirrors Oban lonely position in the 'coastal West' area.

And just in case you're interested in trivialities, here are five more;
1) In 1529 the first (and only) coal mine in the Highlands was opened in Brora.
2) Brora isn't just the name of the harbour town, it's also the name of a nearby river.
3) Rumour has it that this river Brora is one of the very best spots for salmon fishing in Scotland.
4) Compared to the Brora malts Clynelish seems light in style, but in fact medium peated malt is used.
5) Some people pronounce the name of the distillery as klein-LISH or klein-E-lish instead of KLEIN-lish.