A last review of the Fulldram supertasting whiskies, a Clynelish distilled in 1974 and bottled for The Whisky Fair in Germany. It received a gold medal and the “supreme bourbon cask award” at the 2006 Malt Maniacs Awards and a 95 score in the Whisky Bible 2008. We’ve learned not to rely on awards too much, but it’s an impressive pedigree nonetheless.
Clynelish 32 yo 1974 (58,6%, The Whisky Fair 2006, bourbon hogshead, 266 btl.)
Clynelish 32 yo 1974 (58,6%, The Whisky Fair 2006, bourbon hogshead, 266 btl.)Nose: as if a Clynelish cask and a Brora cask were mixed. It shows a restrained Clynelish fruitiness and a little pollen, but also much more flints, minerals and peat than most other Clynelishes. Leather. Farmy notes too (hay, stables). Clean coal and cold ashes. A fair amount of oak spices and herbs as well (pepper, liquorice).
Mouth: quite assertive, even more peat now, nicely oily with big peppery notes. A mustard sharpness up front, and nice fruity roundness in the back. Grassy notes, herbs. Some tar. On the palate more Brora than Clynelish I’d say.
Finish: long and peppery. A lot of liquorice notes but still whiffs of fruit.
Was this a mix-up of spirit? We’ll never know, but a wonderful combination of Clynelish elements with big Brora influence. We can only applaud it of course – it’s stunning. In my ranking at the tasting, it came in third place, but now I fear I should have placed it a little higher. The top-3 was full of gems, but maybe this one should have won. Around € 280 in auctions, one to look out for.
Score: 94/100