Taste Testing The Legendary 1965 Clynelish, 27 Years Old, Bottled By Scotch Malt Sales
One of the first bottlings by the enigmatic Japanese bottler, Scotch Malt Sales, in a vessel of iconic shape. Barely any online impression before this year. This is pre-Brora Clynelish, from the exalted vintage 1965, well-matured and bottled at cask strength. Specifications-wise, it is a tough bottling to beat, considering how much I love this style. A true unicorn of mine.
Tasting Notes
Nose: full-on orange creamsicle, probably the creamiest and thickest Clynelish I ever nosed; all other kinds of citrus fruits; apricot; crystallised pineapple and mango; what follows is pure desserty goodness; luscious dark milk chocolate; gula melaka; the darkest honeys; propolis and beeswax; further resins — myrrh and sandalwood being the most prominent — provide sticky sweetness in abundance; potpourri; spicy, floral deodorants; mixed berries eau-de-vie; juicy agave spirit; even some welcoming soapiness; these more high-toned, perfumey notes are the perfect bridge between the sweet and tart, and the staunch minerality; wet rocks; fresh steel; brand-new electronics; the minerality turns gloriously industrial in due time; petrol; fresh industrial grease; cooking gas; such spritely acidity and electrifying minerality; structurally, this is so damn rich, yet so damn precise; without a doubt the most exhilarating nose I have encountered in a Scotch since the Bowmore 1955 decanter; the base notes are dark and earthy; dead twigs and leaves; black soil; swampy undergrowth; rooty vegetables cooked many ways; tar; soon enough, intense-smelling mushrooms the likes of shiitake, wet cardboard, newly-tanned leather and animal musk round up the uncannily marc-esque foundation of the bouquet.
Palate: eminently expressive, it explode with flavour in the mouth; notes-wise, it sort of corresponds to the nose, but with a different order of progression; creamy animal musk upfront; hummus and crackling pork knuckle, in a pet shop; this is succeeded by delectable, if pungent, earthiness; tar; mushrooms; anchovies; various shrimp-based sauces, most notably the local hebi hiam; chicken karaage drizzled with lemon juice brings about a quick pivot to acidulous fruits; mandarins and tangerines, both fresh and dried; mango; passion fruit; strawberry; tart cherry; these fruits are served with an appreciable fizz and sizzle, suggestive of a well-integrated mineral backbone; the mid-palate is aburst with plants; flowers, resins, vines, grass, branches and roots, all lend their hand towards a kaleidoscope of aromatics worthy of the best amaro and the best pomace brandy; more overtly pungent notes — mostly seafood-adjacent — appear as the plant-based aromatics fizzle; grilled salmon; canned sardines; tuna tartare; olive brine; niboshi ramen broth; bonito flakes; ika shiokara; assorted jeotgal; thereafter, the creaminess comes back; the back-palate is redolent of a heavy, avant-garde dessert; the salty tau sar filling of green-skinned ang ku kueh, a local sweet made with glutinous rice; browned butter on french toast; caramelised pork fat and caramelised apple; freshly baked clay; further evocation of glutinous rice in the form of mitarashi dango.
Finish: about as long as it gets outside of an Alsatian or a Jamaican spirit; picks up where the palate leaves off with ricey notes; old Shaoxing wine, as well as its lees; sweet nigori sake; more rich, milky flavours; coconut milk and coconut flakes; kueh bangkit; nasi lemak, along with its usual accompaniment of deep-fried anchovies and peanuts; more creaminess, this time of the umami kind; miso in dashi; cashew curry; cream of mushroom; the umami turns sharp and earthy; olive tapenade; doushijiang; shrimp-paste chicken; fried starchy roots such as french fries and cassava chips; Cantonese pork ribs soup with lotus root and black beans; the earthiness segues nicely into notes typical of oak influence; chocolate; vanilla; toasted malt; maple syrup; the perfumes and aromatics come back for one last curtsey, before the long-anticipated minerality of old Clynelishes reveal itself in the aftertaste, bringing with it a trove of pickled vegetables, raw peppers, and salted nuts.
Conclusion: this is it. I have peaked. There is seemingly no scotch I want to chase after anymore. 2024 has been a real busy year for me, so much so that writing a long-form review is often too much of a commitment for me. That being said, I am so very glad I managed to squeeze some time over the weekend to fully appreciate this sample I obtained months ago. If this is the end of my serious scotch journey, I cannot imagine it ending any better.
Score (assuming a normal distribution with mean 50): 96/100
Image Courtesy of u/zoorado.
u/zoorado
