Maltbarn sent me some samples of its recent bottlings. They were supposed to be presented at the Limburg Whisky Fair, but it will probably note take place as planned at the end of April. Officially they cannot cancel either because the government has not taken measures for the planned dates yet.
Anyway Maltbarn decided to release some of them early, including this Clynelish 1996 from an ex-bourbon cask.
Clynelish 23 yo 1996 (48,7%, Maltbarn 2020, bourbon cask, 170 btl.)
Clynelish 23 yo 1996 (48,7%, Maltbarn 2020, bourbon cask, 170 btl.)Nose: isn’t Clynelish the Albariño of the whisky world? This one has quite some fruity notes (peaches, yellow plums, grapefruits) as well as firm coastal notes, chalk, grassy notes and crushed leaves. A whiff of menthol. Also raw wool and classic waxy notes. After some time also marshmallow notes and Haribo.
Mouth: lemons, lime, gooseberries, hints of aromatic peach. Again the chalky notes, some fennel seeds and candle wax. But also marshmallows and lokum notes. Textbook Clynelish.
Finish: long, still on fruity citrus and mineral notes, with very little oak.
A Clynelish with an excellent balance of minerality and rounder, candied notes. Rather perfect. Around € 230. By the way, is that you on the label, Martin?
Score: 90/100