Clynelish 15 yo 1992/2007 Cask Strength (Bread, bread wine, goes to my he-e-ad...)

I got this Highlander straight from the cask at the Whisky Exchange in Vinopolis. Sadly, the cask is now finished, and the chaps at the WE have now got a young Laphroaig in. Well, always something else to try. Nevertheless, the WE bottle a similar Clynelish under their Single Malts of Scotland label - I believe that it is also 15 years old, with a similar (though not identical) strength. My palate isn't educated enough to tell the difference.

Anyway, this particular Clynelish is extremely tasty - very interesting fruity and spicy flavours. I particularly enjoy the toasty hit at the finish. It's very drinkable despite being at cask strength, as many good whiskies are, and somewhat scarily, I don't really notice the alcohol at all. I think I'll try to pair this with some bread and various spreads. Why this is appropriate, I hope my tasting notes will make clear:

Clynelish 15 yo 1992/2007 Cask Strength (from the cask, Whisky Exchange)
Single malt - Highlands
Golden
57.9% ABV

Nose: Sweet toffee. Toasty, biscuity notes. Burning paper and woodsmoke. Big prickle from the alcohol, not surprising at this strength.
Mouthfeel: Thick and full bodied. Expands in the mouth.
Tasting: Sweet and rich. Ginger biscuits, wheat beer, spiced apple. Waves of hot honey. Corn on the cob.
Finish: Long and very warm. Fig jam on rye toast. Fades very slowly.

This Clynelish is so toasty and biscuity, particularly in the finish, that I wonder if I could somehow enhance that with some good bread and an interesting accompaniment. For the experiments, I've used Poilane walnut bread (decided on walnut because the Pretty Lady likes walnut), and some spreads that I thought would best match the flavours. Here goes:

1. Walnut bread, untoasted.

Some fishiness comes out - very surprising, like Thai fish sauce. Also something estery, like new plastic. Smoke. Salty nutty flavours - but that's probably from the walnuts in the bread. Not particularly nice. Maybe if I toasted the bread...

2. Dulce de leche on toasted walnut bread.

Nutty, fruity sweetness. The toastiness of the whisky seems to have been subsumed by that of the bread. Hard fruits - pear and apple mainly. The malty character of the whisky has also disappeared. Some smokiness.

3. Chestnut puree on toasted walnut bread.

Very nutty! Caramel, toffee sweetness - I had to check to see if I had gotten the pieces of bread mixed up. No, it's definitely chestnut puree. Toasty character still there, surprisingly. Not smoky at all.

4. Guinness marmite on toasted walnut bread.

I thought this might be interesting... and it was! The whisky turned smoky and nutty, with the toast and malt character shining through. Magic marker, comice pear, very pleasantly salty sea, from the marmite.

5. Tiptree tawny orange marmalade on toasted walnut bread.

The whisky was overwhelmed! Some toast and malt remain, but all the fruitiness has been killed by the sweet and bitter flavours of the jam. Some coffee overtones in the finish, but that's hardly enough to make up for the loss in the tasting.


Surprisingly, this Clynelish goes better with the savoury spread. Somehow, the salt in the marmite preserves the fruity flavours, and brings out the pear notes on top of the toast. Very tasty - too bad I only have a single jar of Guinness marmite.