Well well well, it seems that I have found another secret Clynelish hidden is my stash and it’s a pretty old one!
Secret Highland Malt 36yo 1983-2020 (51.2%, Sansibar, 239 bottles)
Colour: Deep gold with copper hues.
Nose: I can’t find any alcohol notes in the nose. It’s powerful and complex. Ripe bananas, fresh pineapples, floral honey, chalk, cinnamon with hints of iodine and salt in the background. Wow. This is brutal, I’d have to say that I’am impressed!
Mouth: The alcohol integration is perfect and the texture is syrupy, coating slowly all your mouth. Overripe exotic fruits with bananas, mangoes, pineapples, bananas, white pepper, cinnamon and anise star. Just after this initial burst of fruits comes the chalk and mineral notes counterbalancing the sweetness of the fruits and creating a perfect balance polished by some delicious waxy notes.
Finish: Very long. It’s in perfect harmony with the mouth. There are also some hints of bitter chocolate notes and a lingering and very persistent menerality and waxiness.
It’s a fairly old school and multi layered dram. I’m just very impressed. It’s obviously so good and easy to drink that I finished the glass pretty fast! Pure joy in a bottle!
Score: 92
This dram is just magnificent, it’s clearly the best Clynelish I ever tasted from recent releases. It just has everything from integration and texture to complexity, balance and power. Thank you Sansibar for releasing a so good Clynelish with a fairly honest price tag considering the 36 years old. I can’t wait to try more of those bottlings.
Tasting Bro's 