Clynelish 29 year old 1984 SMWS 29.105 (and Easy Rider)

(...continued from yesterday's post)

Despite all the editing flourishes in Easy Ryder, Peter Fonda's performance makes the most lasting mark in my memory of the film. He imbues Captain America with a yellow sheen of melancholy that can be felt from the instant he stuffs his cash stash into the red, white and blue gas tank. And though it isn't until the end of the film that he has a visual premonition of their fate, there's always a weight to his face and body that seems like he always knew what was going to happen. It's not just a distant stoned gaze into the abyss, it's resigned despair. He doesn't even have to speak the works "We blew it", it's in his flesh long before his bike burns.

The Clynelish tasting ended right before Billy and the Captain's Mardi Gras acid trip. Sadly, I can't pin the names "Billy" and "Captain America" on the two Clynelish because there would need to be considerable leaps to find parallels between the nonfiction whiskies and fictional bikers. But despite being of the same age, distillation year, bottler and cask type the two single malts were significantly different.

Distillery: Clynelish
Owner: Diageo
Region: Northern Highlands
Independent bottler: Scotch Malt Whisky Society

Age: 29 years (28 November 1984 to 2014)

Maturation: Refill sherry butt
"Poetic" name: Bumblebees by the sea
Cask number: 26.105
Outturn: 548

Alcohol by Volume: 57.6%
(thanks to Brett P for the sample!)

NEAT
Wildflowers, chewed grass, honey, honeydew and lemon on the nose. After 20-30 mins, notes of raspberry jam, herbal smoke and caramel sauce join in. The thick, oily mouthfeel reveals notes of ginger beer, lemon custard and lime juice in the palate. Meeting up with the fruity sweetness is a solid mineral nip. Soft oak-like notes of caramel sauce combine well with chili flakes and ground mustard seed. Its finish does have lemony notes similar to yesterday's Clynelish, but here it's more of a custard and marmalade than a juice. Mineral notes and chili flakes sparkle along the extensive length.

DILUTED TO ~50%abv, or < 1 tsp of water per 30mL whisky
Now the nose has mustard, marzipan, parsley and peat moss. Guava and lemons. Toasted cinnamon bread. The palate becomes sweeter and more herbal with a touch of bitterness. Fresh ginger, lemon juice and honey. A mix of fresh green herbs. The finish keeps its great length. It's sweet and tart, focusing on limes, while also sneaking in parsley and brine.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
Finally, an SMWS bottling that reflects its "creative" name. And alas, there's one Clynelish this month that shines with the distillery's great reputation. Similar to yesterday's whisky, the oak rarely appears and the sherry is absent. There's just big graceful age. While the nose etches out more detail, the palate shows great depth and balance. Despite the two whiskies' technical similarities, this one came with a $25 higher price tag. In my opinion, the high quality is worth some sort of premium. Yes, I just wrote that.

Availability - Sold out

Pricing - $175ish
Rating - 90

Clynelish 29 year old 1984 SMWS 29.102 (and Easy Rider)

As a parent of two children, I have discovered that the only way to get anything done is to do many things at once. Multitasking at work, multitasking at play. (For instance, I'm typing this post while eating breakfast.) It's not my preferred method of existence, but it's the only way I can get around to viewing a film once or twice a year.

This past weekend I consumed two samples of Clynelish with the same age, bottler, cask type and "vintage" (I prefer "birthday") while watching Easy Rider, a flick I hadn't seen in 20+ years. Easy Rider holds together better than I'd expected from a Dennis Hopper joint, almost solely due to heavy lifting on the editing flatbed. The story actually starts at the beginning, jumping right in without titles and — likely to the shock of many viewers 50 years ago — with Peter Fonda speaking titles-free Spanish. The structure is episodic, but there's little time wasted in the kinetic interstitial riding sequences. When it finishes at the 95-minute mark, Easy Rider feels both full and incomplete, like the lives of its antiheroes. Adventures were had, but a larger exploration was left unfinished.

This is where the Clynelish pair fits in. Whiskies of advanced age require an hour long tasting, in my opinion. They need time and space, rarely revealing their secrets up front. Also, despite what you may think of this glamorous blog, I don't drink 25+ year old whiskies on the reg, so I like to make them last as long as possible. And by "them" I mean whiskies like the two 29 year old Clynelish I'm reviewing today and tomorrow.

Distillery: Clynelish
Owner: Diageo
Region: Northern Highlands
Independent bottler: Scotch Malt Whisky Society

Age: 29 years (13 December 1984 to 2014)

Maturation: Refill sherry butt
"Funny" name: Pomanders in a lady's parlour
Cask number: 26.102
Outturn: 416

Alcohol by Volume: 56.0%
(thanks to Brett P for the sample!)

NEAT
The nose is loaded with zests (orange and lime), roses and melted candle wax at the start. That's followed by butterscotch, vanilla and sour apple candies. It gains more of that candied note with time but also holds onto a soft grassiness underneath. Meanwhile, the palate begins with lots of lemons and dulce de leche. Small notes of fresh ginger and bitter horseradish appear here and there. Some smoked nuts. It's very drinkable and never too sweet. The looooong finish is full of citrus, salt and peppery smoke. Hints of sugar and toasted grains.

DILUTED TO ~50%abv, or ¾ tsp of water per 30mL whisky
The nose reads a little hotter, curiously. But there's oranges, roses, vanilla, hay and ground mustard seed. The palate feels hotter, sweeter, bitterer. Louder, I guess. Lemons, vanilla, spicy mint. It's a little grassy and has the bite of an herbal liqueur. It finishes with citrus, peppery smoke, roses and mint.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
Pretty darn good whisky this Clynelish, especially when neat. It balances sweetness, tartness and herbal bitterness. Smoke, or the illusion thereof, drifts up unexpectedly. It has some stamina to it, never fading out, getting only more raucous when diluted. This must have been a third- or fourth-fill sherry butt because the cask did only what it needed to do, hold the whisky and let it grow old.

I think this was $150 when it came out, which makes it a better deal than yesterday's Caol Ila. Yes, I just said something nice about SMWS. Again. What is the world coming to??? Find out tomorrow.

Availability - Sold out

Pricing - $150?
Rating - 88

Caol Ila 20 year old 1995 Signatory, cask 445 for K&L

The 18yo Caol Ila I reviewed on Monday was plum lovely. Today's Caol Ila spent two more years in a refill hoggie, in a different warehouse, for a different company. Thus it's likely that this whisky will be at least somewhat different in style than the 18yo. I've found Signatory's single casks much more reliable than SMWS's, so expectations are high-ish.

photo from K&L's site
I have no idea where my sample pic is

Distillery: Caol Ila
Owner: Diageo
Region: Islay
Independent Bottler: Signatory
Exclusive to: K&L Wine Merchants
Age: 20 years (24 January 1995 - 30 September 2015)
Maturation: refill hogshead
Cask#: 445
Alcohol by Volume: 54.4%
Chillfiltered? No
Caramel Colorant? No
(via a sample swap with Florin. Thanks, Florin!)

NEAT
Quite a style on the nose. Pineapple and lime juice meets cucumber skins, fennel and dried leafy peat. Smaller notes of Band Aids, wet sheep, dried cherries and vanilla in the background. The palate is very herbal: dried thyme, oregano and rosemary. Black pepper, burlap and bitter melon rind. Plenty of raw heat. Herbs, bitter cocoa, bitter smoke and heat in the finish.

DILUTED TO ~46%abv, or 1 tsp of water per 30mL whisky
Cucumber skins, bitter greens, lemon zest and peppercorns on the nose. The palate remains similar to the neat version. More limes and lemons. Sootier smoke. Slightly sweeter. The finish is bitter, sweet and salty, with a little more peat in the smoke.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
While it often tilts toward Herbal Bomb territory, this Caol Ila's fruit and smoke lend it some complexity. Of all the elements, the nose delivers the most entertainment. There's a roughness to the palate that may be due to an iffy cask. Water helps that part out a little bit, but it lessens the nose's impact. I do seem to like it more than Jordan, Florin and MAO, who all found more oak in it than I. Still, I agree with them that the whisky falls far short of its swollen price tag. Also, mark the calendar: SMWS beats Signatory in this match!

Availability - Sold out

Pricing - $149.99
Rating - 85

Clynelish 18 year old 1997 Hepburn's Choice for K&L

I'm rolling out the 1997 Clynelish for Xmas. I don't think I've reviewed this undeservedly(?) famous(?) vintage(?) since July 2013.

For those of you who are wondering what I'm talking about, a subset of whisky enthusiasts believe that 1997 Clynelishes are consistently fabulous. Another subset think that's a bunch of rubbish. If one is going by facts (and why would one want to do that?), there's an unusually large quantity of single cask Clynelish that had been distilled in 1997 (300+ 1997 releases versus 70+ 1998 releases and 30+ 1999 releases, for instance). In fact, there are more 1997 Clynelish on the market than any other "vintage" from that distillery. So there's a lot of it, whether or not it's always great.

I've found some 1997 Clynelish to be very good and others that aren't. Profound, innit?

Distillery: Clynelish
Ownership: Diageo
Region: Northern Highlands
Independent Bottler: Hunter Laing
Label: Hepburn's Choice
Exclusive to: K&L Wine Merchants
Age: 18 years (1997-2015)
Maturation: refill hogshead
Bottles: 254
Alcohol by Volume: 55.4%
Chillfiltered? No
Caramel Colorant? No
(Thanks to Brett for the sample!)

NEAT
The nose has a nice array of characteristics. Citronella, orange peel, melted candles, honeydew, whole wheat bread and honey. It has a darker side with chalk dust and industrial grease. The palate is hot and very very tangy. Stones and peppercorns. Pears and honey. A slight vanilla creaminess. It finishes salty, tangy and sweet.

DILUTED to ~46%abv, or 1¼ tsp of water per 30mL whisky
The nose is cleaner and fruitier. Lemons, orange and maybe something tropical. The palate remains almost palate-strippingly tangy. Salt, pepper, flowers and simple sweet barley note. The finish has been clipped short. Tangy and peppery.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
I sampled this whisky along with yesterday's 18yo SMWS Caol Ila, and this Clynelish got trounced. It's a noser, not a drinker. The nose is great, with or without dilution, being both friendly and complex. I wouldn't say the palate is DOA, it's just flat and bland aside from the violent tangy note. It doesn't require more dilution because there was almost no finish left at 46%abv.

Another instance of a B range nose and a C range palate. I'm unimpressed with the Clynelish this month. Gonna have to haul out the big guns on Thursday and Friday, but tomorrow will bring a 20yo Caol Ila.

Availability - Sold out

Pricing - $99.99
Rating - 81

Caol Ila 18 year old 1995 SMWS 53.197

And it's off to the races to get to Whisky 2000! There will be five whisky reviews this week. And I'm back on the Clynelish - Caol Ila Train. As mentioned earlier this month, the reviews are going from youngest to oldest. Now we're up to the 18 year olds. One Caol Ila today, one Clynelish tomorrow. Both from refill hoggies.

Historically, I've found more misses than hits among the SMWS releases I've tried. That club's membership and prices remain remain a quandary to me, but they appear to be doing just fine without me and my money. In any case, it's difficult to screw up a well-aged Caol Ila, so lemme see...

A unicorn?

Distillery: Caol Ila
Owner: Diageo
Region: Islay
Independent bottler: Scotch Malt Whisky Society
"Funny" name: A stoker in drag

Age: 18 years (24 August 1995 to 2014). That's a good birthday.

Maturation: Refill hogshead
Cask number: 53.197
Outturn: 253

Alcohol by Volume: 57.4%
(thanks to Brett P for the sample!)

NEAT
Oh man, scrumptious peat on the nose, like peated pecan pie. Then pineapple juice and milk chocolate. Hints of iodine, lemon and smoked salmon. Mango, limes and BBQ-ish peat start off the palate. Then honey, baklava and almond cookies. The smoke gradually intensifies with time. The ABV reads like it's 10 points lower than it actually is. It finishes with salty smoked meats, a dry wood smoke, moss and limes.

DILUTED TO ~46%abv, or 1½ tsp of water per 30mL whisky
Charred meat, smoked fish, soil, cloves and lemon candy on the nose. Wood smoke, Thai chiles and brown sugar on the palate, followed by smoked fish and a creamy mango pudding. The finish is a little sweeter than the palate and has a gentler smoke note. A little bit of the mango too.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
An excellent whisky that reminds one not to weep for the loss of Port Ellen, this Caol Ila may be the best Scotch Malt Whisky Society bottling I've had. They bottled it at just the right time; excellent maturation without any oak interruption. The fruit, salt, smoke and savory elements are dynamite together. Yum. If you've got this, open this, drink this, especially in winter. Whisky 1001 is a success!

Availability - Sold out

Pricing - ???
Rating - 91

Whisky 1000: Old Hermitage Reserve Rye, bottled early 1910s

Five years ago, I was introduced to someone as "the guy who's tried more than 200 whiskies." The gentleman with whom I was being acquainted responded with a skeptical, "How'd you do that?" With the moment catching me by surprise, my answer was, "I don't really know."

But I do know. I could have only done this because of you. Thank you. Thank you for checking in on my last latest rants, complaints, brilliant ideas, loves and general narcissism. A story doesn't exist without an audience. Something brought you here and keeps you here, and I'll do everything I can to inspire you to stick around for more. Thanks again for stopping by.

I'd also like to thank the following people for supplying the drugs: Aaron, Amy, Andrew S, Andy S, Brett, Chris, Cobo, Eric S, Florin, Jennifer, Joe, John, Jordan, Josh F, Josh H, Josh P, Josh S, Lee, Linda, Linh, M.A.O., Matt W, Michael R, Ryan O, Ryan S, Ryan S, Sjoerd, Sku, Teemu, Tetris, Tim and Vik. (There are others, I know, and I'm so sorry for missing your name here. Thank you too!) I'd also like to thank LASC, OCSC, SCWC and CSN for deepening the exploration and also making humans hang out with each other.

---

And then there was 1000.

Four Decembers back, I spent a whisky evening with one Joshua Feldman, known to many as The Coopered Tot. Josh had always been very generous with his collection and knowledge, but on this night...holy moley...he announced we would be opening this:

Bottled by W. Bixby & Company in the early 1910s, this rye was distilled by W.A. Gaines & Co (one of the largest whiskey producers at the time) at The Hermitage Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky. E.H. Taylor Jr was one of the company's early financiers, but he left in the 1870s. The distillery itself was built in 1868 and ran until it was turned into a chair factory during Prohibition.

W. Bixby started bottling Old Hermitage in 1909. Old Hermitage bottles had capsules on the top starting around 1915. This bottle did not have a capsule. That's how Josh got the 1909 to 1914 date range.

For more info on all of this stuff see Sjoerd's review and this great discussion between Cowdery and Veach, two bourbon history giants. Josh also referenced the bottle in this interview with Angus (who is himself a giant sponge of whisky insight).

Also, there's this:

The Old Hermitage is the sexiest bottle I ever had, I think. But sadly it's now empty. But I'll never forget the night I cracked it with you, @kravitz_hubris pic.twitter.com/HJwUZoPjTh

— Josh Feldman (@cooperedtot) March 17, 2018

In order to pry the cork cleanly from the bottle, The Coop utilized a rare form of Scottish acupuncture:

And it worked perfectly.

It looks like a cross between a shuttlecock and Sputnik.
Does that make it a Sputcock?
Discuss amongst yourselves.

For some zany reason we lined it up against full-powered Thomas H. Handy's 2012 release. And, by gum. It held its own. In fact, it was remarkable.

It all seems like a hazy crazy dream now, four years later. But to make sure this remained in the realm of reality, Josh sent me home with an excellent sample. What a mensch, jeezus.

---

To make this the official 1000th whisky on The Big Whisk(e)y List I have to give it a score. And I'll do that now, because I feel the weight of the absurd on this number: 93

Okay, you can forget that number now. I'll continue.

---

So how exactly does one review a rye whiskey that was bottled 100 years ago? I don't know, but I thought I'd try it alongside three enjoyable contemporary ryes. It wasn't just that I wanted to compare the quality, but I also wanted to glean if there was any matching (metaphorical) DNA in their styles.

I'll cut right to it. These younglings got schooled. When compared to Old Hermitage...

(time to shift verb tenses)

...Wild Turkey 101's nose is nutty, loaded with caramel and wood shavings, while the palate is bitter and green.

...Pikesville 6yo has a lot of candy and vanilla in the nose, with grain and smoked nuts in the palate.

...Smooth Ambler Old Scout 7yo's nose is rife with pickles, pine and soil, and its palate is medicinal and briney.

I sincerely like all three of these ryes on their own, but there's a flatness and greenness to them when compared to Old Hermitage. The Pikesville is vaguely the closest in style on the nose, but none has a similar palate. The MGP Smooth Amber has the most distinct style of the three.

---

And the Old Hermitage Reserve?

The nose is loaded with fruits: clementines, lemons and baked peaches. Then there's shoe leather and anise. Toasted rye bread and almond brittle. It grows dessertier with time, loaded with custards and sugars. Not even a whiff of old bottle funk.

It may be the most drinkable rye I've ever had. The palate has a moderate warmth, close to the 99-101 proof babies, but it doesn't scorch the senses. Add in an excellent balance of characteristics and a silky texture and...oh does it drink. About that balance; think sea salt, brown sugar, citrus juices, mint, toasted barley and earth. No blatant oak, no obvious vanilla. There's something almost alien about that after drinking so many modern whiskies.

The citrus comes on strong in the finish, almost like a single malt. Hints of salt, soil and coal smoke. Something floral joins the gentle sweetness.

Though I'm filled with elation and wonder, a quiet sadness lies beneath, like I've lost something that was okay to lose. It's not the alcohol talking, nor the customary chemical imbalances. Time has passed. Memories gone, distilled down into obstacles and momentum. Maybe that's why this blog is here. A thousand photographs of things mistakenly thought to be distractions. It's just whisky, but that doesn't mean it can't be beautiful. This was a good rye.

Clynelish 16 year old 1996 AD Rattray for K&L Wine Merchants

I've had this sample for five years. Luckily the sample bottle was still full after all these years. Probably have the polycone seal to thank for that.

This sample was given to me by Tetris, a fellow who indulged in K&L's exclusive bottlings before I did. And, frankly, I don't even remember Driscoll pimping this one. But it exists/existed, as you'll see from the bottle pic near the bottom of the post.

Like Monday's Clynelish, this one was aged in a sherry butt, though I believe it was a refill, as per my sample label. I tasted the two Clynelish side-by-side for their reviews.

Distillery: Clynelish
Ownership: Diageo
Independent Bottler: A. Dewar Rattray
Exclusive to: K&L Wine Merchants
Age: 16 years (8 October 1996 - 17 December 2012)
Maturation: refill sherry butt
Cask#: 8781
Outturn: 555 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 58.2%
Chillfiltered? No
Caramel Colorant? No
(thank you, Tetris!)

NEAT
The nose is very buttery, and that's all I can smell at first. But after it airs out, notes of brown sugar, brine, peppery sulphur, concrete, apples and grain float up. The palate is better than the nose leads on. It has a balance of brown sugar, citrus and savory. There are also black raisins, cayenne pepper and moldy oak. It gets limier with time. Limes, salt and cayenne in the finish. Very little sweetness to it, sort of like a super dry white wine. But hotter.

DILUTED TO ~46%abv, or > 1½ tsp of water per 30mL whisky
Almost no change to the nose. Maybe some maple, lime and raisins show up. But the palate becomes much easier. Oloroso and earth. Raisins and tart citrus. Chili oil, butter and moldy oak. The finish nearly matches the palate, with a good length and maybe some more sweetness.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
Though I'm not a fan of the strange buttery note, I do like what lies beneath it. The palate is less problematic than the nose, working decently with or without water. Its ABV is almost identical to that of Monday's Clynelish, but it reads less hot. It also comes across slightly more generic compared to the 13yo. I will say this, I'm three Clynelish in, so far, and I'd still pick the 14yo OB over them all.

Availability - Sold out

Pricing - $99.99
Rating - 83