Clynelish 1990 24 YO Cadenhead Authentic Collection

Clynelish 1990 24 YO Cadenhead Authentic Collection, 44,7 %

I received a very nice birthday gift from a Swedish friend. It was a sample of an unspecified whisky! A blind tasting! It always sharpens my senses.

I tasted the whisky and made a guess...which turned out to be all wrong. Wow, it is hard to guess the distillery.

The sample was a 24 YO Clynelish from Cadenhead Authentic Collection. The whisky was distilled in 1990 and bottled in 2014. It has matured in bourbon barrel and the number of bottles was 156.

Nose (21/25): Quite cold and fresh like a winter day. Eucalytus and menthol. After a while it became more medicinal with iodine and Cosylan (cough medicine). Some vanilla made me think of bourbon cask, but not a first-fill. Dusty with a whiff of smoke. Floral and perfume after a while in the glass.

Taste (21/25): Initially quite sharp. Not very rich mouthfeel. Quite cold in the mouth as well, with menthol. Very gentle smoke and dust with licorice, salt, spices and pepper. Woody. Some perfume.

Finish (21/25): Oily, dry, woody with some spices. Light perfume. Quite long. The finish suggested this was not a very young whisky.

Balance (21/25): Well balanced. It is the same smell and taste all the way. A bit too dry in the finish. From the color and taste I guessed this would be a bourbon cask, but not first-fill. This was a correct guess. Further on I thought this would be a Bowmore since I recognized perfume and a whiff of smoke. Here I was wrong...very wrong. My last guess was the age. I said between 15 and 20 years old. Again I was wrong. The oak should have made me guessed a higher age.

Score (84/100)

Thanks, Susan!

- Tone