If you’re looking for affordable, good single cask whisky, Van Wees is your bottler. Always good, sometimes really good, never bad, but also never great. They do (almost) always water their whisky down to 46 percent abv, but that’s the price you pay for affordable whisky. Such as, you ask? What to think about a 23 year old Clynelish for around 65 euro? Yep, that’s right. Not that long ago they released a Clynelish of almost a quarter century old, for an extremely reasonable price.
Clynelish 1991/2014 (46%, Van Wees, C#13213+14)
Nose: Fresh citrus fruits, lemon and lime. Apple also. Lots of minerals, pretty waxy as well, with some honey A hint of wet cardboard.
Taste: Fairly dry, subtle peat smoke. Chalky and waxy with honey glazed apple. Citrus too.
Finish: Smoky, ashy almost. Salty and waxy with ripe apples.
Rating: 89
An impressive whisky, that reminds me of an Clynelish 1974 by Adelphi I have at home. An old Highland-profile. And that’s a big compliment. The finish is a tad too short for a 90 score.