Clynelish 14 YR Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Green gold with slow, thick legs. Wood spice, sea salt and malt on the nose. Big, soft and malty on the palate, with a kiss of smoke and the lightest grace note of sea salt. Pretty tasty. D&M Tasting Notes

The distilling process at Clynelish is different from most other modern distilleries as they allow the natural precipitation of oils from the distilling process to build up in the feints receiver. This ‘gunk’ changes the spirit from what would be quite light and fruity like a Glen Grant into something with a sense of texture to it; to borrow a wine term, a waxy mouthfeel. This buildup was the norm in whiskies produced in the 1950s and 1960s, but our current cleaner is better regime in distillery maintenance has made this texture a rarity.

When the distillery is cleaned these days, the oil buildup is removed, the feints receiver is cleaned, and the gunk goes back in. In talking recently with the head of education for Diageo, he stated that Northern California takes the lion’s share of Clynelish that comes into the US. There must be something about this waxy spirit that appeals to us here in San Francisco with our sophisticated ways.