Clynelish 7 year old 2008 Signatory for Binny's, cask 800001

I might as well tell you now, Caol Ila-Clynelish Month will start mostly with the Islay distillery. Four out of the first five reviews, in fact. More Clynelish will follow as the whiskies get older. Today's post is the single Clynelish review out of the first five. It's a very young single cask that was selected by Binny's from the Signatory warehouses. We bought a bottle for an OC Scotch Club event three years ago. I remember it being raw, which is unsurprising considering its low age and high ABV. But I don't remember anything else about it.

Distillery: Clynelish
Ownership: Diageo
Independent Bottler: Signatory
Exclusive to: Binny's
Age: 7 years (1 March 2008 - 17 March 2015)
Maturation: bourbon barrel
Cask#: 800001
Alcohol by Volume: 63.8%
Chillfiltered? No
Caramel Colorant? No
(from a OCSC whisky event)

NEAT
It's like a melon-scented eau de vie on the nose, at first. Then lemon-scented Windex, sour apple Jolly Ranchers, flower kiss candy and orange oil. The palate is......ugh. Vodka, vanilla, sugar and bitterness. Like a cask strength Canadian Club, with bitter lemon soda. Lemon pepper, bitterness and citronella in the finish.

That was unpleasant. How about some water?

DILUTED TO ~46%abv, or 2⅓ tsp of water per 30mL whisky
Midori, citronella, pears and a hint of OFF roll-on bug repellant on the nose. The palate is "less awful" (my actual notes). It's sweeter, with more citrus. Hint of horseradish. Bitter lemon soda. Good mouthfeel. More bitter lemon in the finish, along with pink peppercorns and Smirnoff.

Then...

DILUTED TO ~40%abv, or 3½ tsp of water per 30mL whisky
The nose is a slushie of Sprite, lime popsicles and Midori. Citrus, sugar, vanilla and bitterness in the palate. Bitter lemon soda and vanilla in the finish.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
Binny's picks are usually reliable. This is a rare raring misfire. In fact I was ready to dump this whisky after sipping it neatly. The nose is kooky and quirky, but the palate was shockingly bottom-shelf-cheapie poor. Luckily dilution improved things, though not enough to recommend this to anyone. I'm sorta sorry we unleashed this whisky on the OCSC group.

For a different perspective, see the review by My Annoying Opinions. MAO didn't like this Clynelish either, but there are some positive comments about the whisky in his comment section.

Availability - Sold out

Pricing - ???
Rating - 71 (with water, 10+ points lower when neat)

Killing Whisky History, Episode 19: J&B Jet 12 year old from the 1990s

I like this whisky. In fact, while you're reading this, I am drinking this:


Come along and meet J&B Rare's short-lived tall dark and handsome sibling whose contents might be a little older than the bottle says.

Caol Ila 6 year old 2009 Hepburn's Choice for K&L

Yes, I'm following up a 5 year old hogshead-aged Hepburn's Choice Caol Ila bottled for K&L Wine Merchants with a 6 year old hogshead-aged Hepburn's Choice Caol Ila bottled for K&L Wine Merchants. How much trouble am I asking for here? Who needs taste buds anyway?

A couple of differences between Monday's whisky and this one, other than one whole additional year of maturation. This Caol Ila is somewhat more recent, released in 2016, rather than 2014. Wow! And, oh yeah, today's CI lived in a sherry hogshead for its 6+ years.

And with that, I'm going to start drinking.

Distillery: Caol Ila
Ownership: Diageo
Region: Islay
Independent Bottler: Hunter Laing
Label: Hepburn's Choice
Exclusive to: K&L Wine Merchants
Age: 6 years (2009-2016)
Maturation: sherry hogshead
Bottles: 291
Alcohol by Volume: 58.9%
Chillfiltered? No
Caramel Colorant? No
(Thanks to Monsieur Florin for the sample!)

NEAT
Its color is nearly identical to the straw hue of the 5 year old. Those nose isn't the veggie patch that 5yo presented, but something a little more complex. There are the familiar youthful notes of green peat, pear and a whiff of mezcal, but there's also salted butter, lemon zest, fresh bread, charcoal ash and some fresh apricot. The palate is......good. Less pepper and heat than expected. Milder peat than in the nose. Solid combos of limes + apricots, and toffee + brown sugar are ever-present. More sherry and sweetness with time. Brown sugar, peat, pinches of pepper and salt in the finish. Just a sparkle of heat.

DILUTED TO ~46%abv, or 1¾ tsp of water per 30mL whisky
A straightforward nose. Peat, sand, smoked salmon and orange zest. Very rich peat in the palate. Roasted almonds and fresh apples. A little bit of sherry and brown sugar. It finishes with peat, salt, apples and lemons.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
I'm going to take Monday's rant and tuck it away today. This is a comfy whisky, providing a quality close to what Kilchoman can do at this age. The sherry is present, and may help to cover up a problem or two, but it never bullies the rest of the whisky away. In fact, the more I drink this, the more I like it. It even swims well. While this whisky would likely be better at twice its age, it would also risk too much cask action. So I have no problem with it right here. Hopefully I won't have to whip out that rant again next week.

Availability - Sold out

Pricing - $49.99
Rating - 85

Caol Ila 5 year old 2008 Hepburn's Choice for K&L

I'm starting off this Caol Ila-and-Clynelish Month with the youngest of the bunch, a 5 year old from the distillery on Port Askaig. It was bottled by the Laing family via their Hepburn's Choice label, and sold exclusively in the USA by K&L Wine Merchants.

My luck with ≤8 year old indie bottlings has been poor. Why indie companies choose to bottle such young single malt (and why retailers elect to sell it) is a little fuzzy to me. I mean, people are buying these babies......though not with tremendous speed, as can be seen by the growing number of options on European retailers' websites. I mean how many concurrent bottlings of 8 year old Glentauchers is enough? Anyway, Caol Ila.

Distillery: Caol Ila
Ownership: Diageo
Region: Islay
Independent Bottler: Hunter Laing
Label: Hepburn's Choice
Exclusive to: K&L Wine Merchants
Age: 5 years (2008-2014)
Maturation: refill hogshead
Bottles: 314
Alcohol by Volume: 61.1%
Chillfiltered? No
Caramel Colorant? No
(Thanks to St. Brett of Riverside for the sample!)

NEAT
It's the color of straw. The nose is very vegetal. Cruciferous specifically, without being farty. There's also cocoa power, cumin, celery juice and a little bit of tar. The peat is similar to that of current Ardbeg 10. The palate is warm. Very warm. It's also aggressively sweet, with cinnamon, lemon candy and Blue Moon beer. Then comes a massive chili oil strike, followed by clay. It finishes hot and sweet and peaty and tangy.

It's time to apply a quantity of water Ralfy would be proud of.

DILUTED TO ~46%abv, or 2 tsp of water per 30mL whisky
The nose gets brighter. More sugar and a squirt of lemon juice. Grassy and ashy. Unfortunately, the palate goes the other direction. It's just hot and peppery. Not very palatable. Some late cloying aspartame and a strange bitterness. It finishes cloying, grassy and bitter.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
*sigh*

Why this gotta be?

I traded a blown out palate for confirmation of my intro's complaint. This whisky isn't even half baked. Caol Ila can grow up to be such great whisky (which is one of the motivations behind this month's reviews), why dispose of all the potential? When neat, this whisky is brash and violent, but not unique or weird enough to be its own monster. And it is, frankly, awful when diluted. What the hell awaits me on Wednesday?

Availability - Sold out

Pricing - $49.99
Rating - 75 (when neat only; 15-20 points lower when diluted)

A December of Clynelish and Caol Ila

The Clynelish and Caol Ila distilleries are two of Diageo's most prized assets, producing some of the most important ingredients for the behemoth's blended scotch empire. I'm going spend the month exploring a flock of each, as released by independent bottlers. They'll be posted youngest to oldest, from the late aughts back to the early eighties.

There'll be a Killing Whisky History episode this coming Friday (hopefully), but it won't be from the aforementioned distilleries. And there will be one additional whisky review that will be far different from anything else I've reviewed.

But the girls are asleep now, so it's time to play with their toys while I tumble through a drink.

Rum Dummy drinks Caroni 15 year old 1997 AD Rattray, cask 107

Caroni distillery opened, and then it closed. In between it made rum.

Am I supposed to write more than that?

The distillery ran from 1923 (or 1918) to 2003 (or 2002) sourcing sugar right from the Caroni sugar plains on which the distillery was built. I'm uncertain about the dates because different "expert" websites list different years. What I do know is that Trinidad was its home, and that it had column and pot stills.

I like Caroni's rum because it smells and tastes like fuel. Perhaps I should just drink diesel and get it over with, but I have a feeling that wouldn't work well in Planter's Punch.

Or would it?

This sample was sent to Diving for Pearls by Florin (who drinks rum?), then it was sent to me, Rum Dummy. Thanks to all!

Caroni 15 year old 1997 AD Rattray, cask 107, 46%abv

My review:

Nose - Candy. El Dorado and candy canes and cherry bubblegum and Hampden (but not much Hampden). Also lots of vanilla extract and chewy caramel candy.

Palate - Not as sugary as the nose. Ginger and mint and lots of spice. Mothballs and salt. Okay, I tried to not drink it all in 5 minutes and found some funk and sour.

Finish - Warm, spicy, sweet. Bourbon?

Caroni's name is on this but it could be many other rums. Or a blend of rum and bourbon. It's easy and mellow. Probably works in many cocktails. Why am I disappointed? Why am I off to the gas station to get a fifth of 87 octane?

NOT WHISKY RATING: C+ or B- (i can't decide)

Macallan 15 year old 1995 AD Rattray, cask 11251

The whisky bug infected my system at the dusk of the Golden Age of Whisky For Whisky Enthusiasts. In those days one could find the occasional single bourbon cask of Macallan AND pay for it without having to skip two months of rent. And I'll skip over the rest of this back-in-the-good-ol'-days schtick to get to my point...

Whether we all like it or not, Macallan is one of the iconic whisky distilleries, thus not having bourbon cask Macallan available feels like a loss to the whisky community as whole. We're unable to experience Macallan's malt uncloaked by volumes of sherry......you know, figure out what Macallan's actual distillery character is.

MAO sent me this sample of bourbon cask Macallan bottled by Dewar Rattray back in 2011. While I doubt it will pull back the curtain and reveal the truth of Macallan's spirit, I'm still happy to try it!

Distillery: Macallan
Region: Speyside (Central)
Bottler: Dewar Rattray
Age: 15 years (October 1995 - April 2011)
Maturation: bourbon cask, probably a hoggie
Cask #: 11251
Outturn: 334
Alcohol by Volume: 46%
Chill-filtration? No
Caramel coloring? No
(Sample from swap with My Annoying Opinions)

Its color is a good deal lighter than that of Monday's 12yo Fine Oak. The nose has a fruity side: lemon zest, peach skin and fresh bananas. Then it has its, well, non-fruity side: a significant grassy note, along with hints of vanilla and musty cask. The palate is a little weird on the first sip, showing cardboard and fabric. Matters improve upon subsequent sips. Sweet lemons, fresh ginger, tart berries, vanilla, roasted nuts and toasted oak. It finishes tangy and with plenty of spicy oak. Then there's vanilla, almonds, sugar and heat.

Looking at MAO's post, I wonder if this sample lost a little zip after a few years in the sample bottle. I side a little more with Florin's (egads!) estimation in the that post's comments section.

Though the palate does have its fruit, I'm left wanting more of it, perhaps to brighten up the otherwise simple remainder, or to cleanse the memory of the first sip. Maybe something closer to the nose's fruity volume? The cask starts to take over around 25-30 minutes in, which doesn't help matters. It's not a flawed whisky, nor is it a particularly characterful one. As with the 12yo Fine Oak, it could be from nearly any distillery.

Availability - Sold out — like Macallan itself (ha!)

Pricing - ???
Rating - 80