Clynelish 17 Year Old 1996 First Cask – Air Leth

Air Leth is Gaelic ‘prominent’. It’s a series from the Dutch company Whisky Import Nederland – WIN for short – used for whisky’s that they do not wish to bottled under their First Cask label, for whatever reason. Funny detail: there is a bed & breakfast on Skye with the same name. I wonder if they have the Clynelish 1996 on the shelf.

Lovely, layered nose on oranges, grapefruit, sultana, roasted almonds and beeswax, but brought together in a humid cellar. Some potpourri and leather. Lemongrass. Toffee apples. Nutmeg. Mint and Turkish Delight. Very interesting and exciting. Quasi complex.

It starts off sweet, but evolves quickly towards umami. And then suddenly spicy and candy-like. What fun! Think pepper, ginger, nutmeg, quinine and even some mustard seed. Fruit-wise I get citrus of all kinds, mostly candied. Plums and cherries kick in. Nicely oily. Midpalate it’s the grapefruit that entertains the most. Very lovely powerhouse.

The finish is long, warm, dark and sweet with a nice hint of oak.

Sometimes I still catch myself that I would let a bottle with an ugly label (in my opinion) pass me by. This bottles proves that is an ill-advised strategy. Recommended!

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