Clynelish 12-year-old

Nose of pear, coriander mixed with mint and vanilla The taste of warm smoke, such a baked apple, pepperiness, light fruit Finish: medium long, some wood, spiciness but not overdone

Except for the bitter bitterness, pepper, and octagonal spish, it has a Clynelish feel and a sherry taste

Aroma：Moderate；Palate：86/100; Aftertaste：Med-Long.

[January 2023] What to say about these prices? Crazy? Ridiculous? Greedy? Probably a little bit of all... ...and the quality of this dram does not really justify this high price point. The nose is a little flawed (for a Clynelish) and the spirit's texture a little thin (for a Clynelish) - to be honest, I rather go for fine IB releases instead.

Powerful and typical Clynelish

Vanilla, bread, grapes, lemon. Very faint sherry influence; dominant cereal and smoky notes, with a pleasant citric touch.

In my opinion, this is simply a magnificent whisky! The tasters simply didn't finish their work. The spirit of youth and revelry is only there at the beginning, then it goes away and human rock and roll begins. 22.5 23 21.5 21

Finished in Pedro Ximenéz and oloroso casks. It's also got the elusive Scottish wildcat, Felis Sylvestris, on the label as the distillery is located among its natural habitat.

Session of ten Clynelishes: 2023.02.10. (in order of my preference) Clynelish 12yo SR2022 https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/218145/clynelish-12-year-old 84+ Secret Highland Distillery 24yo Sb 1996 https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/184781/secret-highland-distillery-1996-sb 87- Clynelish 20yo SV 1995 https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/85536/clynelish-1995-sv 88- Clynelish Wy 1997 Apple Barley Pitcher https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/98239/clynelish-1997-wy 88+ Clynelish 18yo AD 1997 WhiskyFun https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/208641/clynelish-1997-ad 89- Clynelish Wy 1997 Bench with a Sea View https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/58805/clynelish-1997-wy 89+ Clynelish 21yo Mg 1993 https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/81152/clynelish-1993-mg 90+ Clynelish 24yo Wy 1995 Summer Fruits Sundae https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/160407/clynelish-1995-wy 91- Clynelish 22yo Wy 1997 Tropical Scented Candle https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/160525/clynelish-1997-wy 91+ Clynelish 23yo TBWC https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/182153/clynelish-batch-10-tbwc 92-

The sherry cask feel is obvious. The waxy texture is also noticeable. However, the level of enjoyment and complexity is rather average.

it didn't have the waxiness to me as much, I think because I didn't spend enough time with it

Bright, straw color. Oily structure.

I am not one of those folks who follow Clynelish, but this release is really very decent. Lots of fruit, herbal flavors and well-hidden alcohol give this whisky a good note.

A peppery Clynelish. Nice but would have expected a better choice for the Special Release

Clynlish now is crazy expensive, it the big buck wort the smell and taste? ( My apinnion only)

Quick hit review. Online tasting 05/2023. £175 for a 12-year-old? £40 more than the Lagavulin? Give me a break, Diageo! On the nose, vanillin, beeswax and thyme mix with black tea, melon and noticeable alcohol. No sherry notes and not much complexity. Apricots, honey and white pepper kick off the palate before dry and savory notes emerge in the development. The finish falls short of expectations (are there any?), walnuts, nutmeg and some bitter oak are all that remains. Unless you are a Diageo shareholder, 'The Golden Eyed Guardian' is certainly not a good investment. RATING: 3.5/5.0 stars ≙ 84 pts → ABOVE AVERAGE

Very intense, sweet to caramel, but also fruity aroma. The taste has a distinct taste of grapes, malt, spiciness and a pinch of salt. Quite a nice drink, but not for the price...

The aroma is obvious sherry on the first nose, the aromatics are very neat. Wax, honey, a lot of dressed, tanned leather. Taste – the sherry goes away very quickly (pfft!), the taste pleasantly changes and shimmers. And fruits, and spices, and peanut butter, mixed nuts. Lots of things, interesting and good. A very pleasant aftertaste, rough, spreading throughout the entire cavity.

Was super excited to try this cask strength, briefly sherry-cask-matured Clynelish but ended up slightly disappointed. Quaffable, but lacking the Clynelish waxiness that's seems somewhat suppressed by the harsh sherry. It's kind of rough on the palate too.

Matured on a combination of refill American oak and PX/Oloroso 'seasoned' barrels. N: The first sniff is sweet on baked apples, pancake sugar (the light brown Graeffe variety), salted caramel and butterscotch, dry apricots and some birch sap. You have to wait a minute or two for it, but eventually the almost obligatory beeswax also appears. Feel free to make candle wax out of it. S: WYSIWYT. Huh? That stands for 'what you smell, is what you taste', which it is a fine continuation of the nose with apricots, salted caramel, apples in the pan, supplemented with gingerbread. The waxy notes are getting louder and very beautiful. I now have pastry butter and crème au beurre. A salty also appears in the background. And the whisky seems to be gaining strength. Very seductive and entertaining. F: The finish seems to be constantly in motion. Does that make sense? Very long with a drying terminus.

Hmm somehow pretty good whisky but not worth the money

My summary this year: The Talisker convinced me and is my favorite this year. The Lagavulin is on hold because it always has a few points in the open bottle catching up. Next up this year is the Cardhu worth mentioning as far as the sweet ones go likes notes of rum finish. The singleton is ok, but goes very much in the wine direction. Everyone else disappointed me. Unfortunately I haven't been able to try the Cameronbridge yet My ranking of the SR 2022: Talisker 11-year-old 88 Cardhu 16-year-old 87 Lagavulin 12-year-old 86 (it gets better! towards 88+) Singleton 15-year-old 86 Oban 10-year-old 85 Clynelish 12-year-old 84 Mortlach NAS 82 Cameronbridge 26-year Not tested

Minerals, chalk, apple, pear, citrus, marzipan, pepper, young but pretty good

Signature beeswax/honey. Sultanas, lemon custard. Peppery palate, full-bodied and rich with decently integrated alcohol. Very good dram, but lacks complexity.

It's a perfectly fine Clynelish, if it would be half the money. Really wondering which audience Diageo are targeting here. People who are regularly paying this amount for quality bottlings or people who are bored with their money?

The aroma was a rich and well-spiced clash between holiday baking spices and a spiced barbecue rub. Brown sugar, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, honey, molasses, paprika, and pepper joined the spicy mosh pit while richer notes of black currants and cassis jam stared down meaty notes of duck breast prosciutto and smoked duck neck. Medium to full-bodied, the flavor profile was equally as spicy and meaty though more coherent with notes that read like a shopping list for a meaty marinade: plum sauce, brown sugar, black vinegar, Szechuan peppercorns, black peppercorn, molasses, and clove. A subtle nuttiness appeared near the end with a mild spirited prickle and laminated leather. The finish was medium-length and drying with an initial mix of molasses, peppercorns, and meat before slowly fading to dried tropical fruits. Spicy yet savory and occasionally creamy, this was not the fruity, waxy Clynelish I expected to find. It was far meatier than any Clynelish I have encountered without any characteristic citrus and wax— though maybe those notes transformed under the blanket of sherry covering everything. I understand that not every member of the Clynelish faithful was thrilled with this year’s special edition; as a more casual observer, I thought this was a fascinating malt that showed a keen balance between cask elements. Overall, I rated the artwork as the weakest part of this whisky. While the price, $200, according to my quick web search, is unattractive and not very advantageous for a 12-year-old malt, at least this was tasty, enjoyable, and a different take on Clynelish. I will not be running out to buy a bottle, but it was far better than I expected, based on some early reviews. Mental Image: Mala Duck Neck

Aroma: Flowery meadow, milk fudge, baked apple, wax, juicy oranges, chalk, citrus, delicate black tea and pear, in the background black berries smeared on the hand Palate: Baked apple, salted caramel, apricots, milk chocolate, wax, fresh sultana raisins, vanilla custard, apricot, ripe peach, delicate notes of cocoa, forest fruits (bilberries) and leather The smell and taste is not surprising, but it is very intense and juicy. Of course, a drop of water does the job here. As for the effect of aging, sherry is not dominant, rather supportive - it does not appear to be a first fill cask

Very powerful, but, having a wide palette of derivatives and richness, this is a fairly simple composition and young whisky, generally consistent with the main profile of the distillery, in other words, this is an under-aged version of the DE release on anabolic steroids and despite the stated sherry casks, they do not have a significant effect, being pushed out by overactive oak to the periphery.

The price is a bit cheaper in 2025 but still a disgrace

Very nice whisky But the price is absurd

Well. First of all, this whisky was way too expensive. Secondly, PX? Really? But on the other hand: the PX keeps to the background and the Clynelish distillate is not easily tamed. So all in all, a pretty good whisky. It’s just that I had expected a bit more from a Diageo Special Release offering from Clynelish. Especially at this price!

With all the good, similarly aged Clynelish that have been released by independent bottlers in the past few years, how can Diageo not at least match that quality?

Pleasant, a bit too strong.

sadly enough Diageo has destroyed Clynelish. Sure, the Sherry goes well with the characteristic honeycomb, but that can't be all... too spirity, too generic, too "why bother?"

aroma: smooth, delicate, alcoholic, prunes, green apple Taste: smooth, oily, bready, dried fruit, wood, caramel excellent shot, complete taste, aroma. I have it in my collection

Lots of fun, but is it worth the price?

I deducted a lot of points because the watery smell and waxiness of the scent were very annoying, but if I stabilized the scent a little, it still came within an acceptable range, so I raised the score a little. Basically, all the flavors have strong claims, so it's like a speeding drunk driving car. Spicy while pounding here and there! Dark chocolate! cacao! raisin! Oak! Green apple! It feels like I'm hitting various layers like this. Although it is rough, it is fun to drink, but the off-note control in the scent is very disappointing. He ruins his first impression and later beats him with a hook, saying, “Do you still hate me like this?” I feel like doing it.

A classic case of whisky that you can drink once in a while, but you don't have to—especially if you're a Clynelish fan, because you won't find any waxy notes here.

Not a bad dram by any means. Unfortunately, the price ruins the taste experience in the long term. For a little more than half the asking price, I would be absolutely satisfied. Nothing complex, but no bugs either. Maybe a bit alcoholic at one point or another, but all in all quite balanced and straight. Unfortunately, that's not enough at the asking price... Yummy, yes, but not worth the money at all. Too bad, but the days when there was affordable, cask-strength Clynelish are probably over.

Is it a good whisky? Yes! Is it worth the price of 200 Euro? Absolutely not! Very honey forward, some oranges, malt, light waxiness and noticable spiciness (black pepper and ginger). Beautiful texture and mouthfeel. I would be willing to go up to 120 Euro to buy such a whisky. I find the packaging (the gift boxes) of the whole new line ridiculous, pathetic, and looking like a cheap product targeted at kids. Nothing that would trigger a buying need for me...

S 6 3x the price of WB212911, similar in profile & quality. The Sherry finishing must be brief, neither adding much to the colour nor the complexity. Water opens up the liquid and offers more complexity, so recommend tasting neat then gradually add more water to find the optimal strength. 81-85 - Another dram welcomed

Great whisky. It's still the wonderful taste of Clynelish but in CS...

Nose: Sweet but at the same time gentle sherry aromas, with apricots and perhaps peach, subtle lemon peel, a little wax in the background, then roasted nuts, tanned leather and spices. Taste: Powerful and intense, it packs a punch, pepper and ginger, then it becomes sweeter and fruitier, especially dried fruit, with caramelized apple, dried orange peel, forest honey and slightly bitter oak. Finish: Medium length, slightly dry, subtle raisins, dark chocolate, some tobacco and oak. Conclusion: The sherry aromas harmonize excellently with the Clynelish character, but in the mouth it has a slightly swashbuckling quality.

a revisit to this cat, for some reason the combination of these casks and Clynelish does not work for me.

Decent and flawless young-ish sherry whisky, but for me it is a bit too cask-driven and therefore somewhat lacks the typical "clynelishness". At this price, a hard pass.

Not your typical Clynelish, which is the fault of the sherry casks. This bottling needs some air and time in the glass. The price of this bottling is not justified.

Worst Clinelish I've ever tasted... Rough, harsh, angular. Young even for the stated age. Complete disappointment.

No wax of clynelish, marzipan, apricots, a little lemon zest, malt, pepper, performance is bad for the price

i really like Clynelish a lot, but this one doesn't make the mark for me.

Definitely needs some time in the glass. Lightly sherried, green grape syrup, lime with applemint, orange, vanilla, some pepper. Sadly the character of Clynelish is nowhere to be seen.

I was very satisfied except for the price. Very Straight-forward

Tasted on 09.05.24 in Lommel.