Clynelish 1997, 17 Year Old, Maltbarn

Another Clynelish 1997, this time a 17 year old from German bottler Maltbarn.

It's been some time since my last post.

It's not like I haven't been drinking. Boy, have I been drinking. It's just that I've become so incredibly time-poor - with the newborn and toddler dominating us and our home like so many pint-sized tyrants - that I've had little time to record anything. Hopefully things will ease soon, though, and I'll be able to get to the rapidly expanding backlog.

Clynelish 1997, 17 Year Old, Maltbarn, 52.4%

Nose: Lemons, sugared fried pastries (farfallette dolci, if you know your festive fried Italian goodies), and sweet malt. Water releases lemon-talc, clementines, red berries and peaches, as the nose really explodes with dilution.

Palate: Sweet malt - that typically Clynelish tongue-coating maltiness. Pretty hot as it hits the back palate, and perhaps a tad metallic too. A burst of citrus immediately after swallowing. With water, really interesting layers of flavour develop. On top, there's a thin layer of rich malt, but underneath there's this lovely sharp-but-sweet fresh, yellow fruit thing going on. Sweet citrus, salt and spices.

Finish: Medium long. Spicy initially, but then it becomes quite dry and prickly. Water lengthens and broadens things considerably. The fruit is extended and the finish softened accordingly, as the stonefruit and citrus continue down the line as a gentle saltiness rises.

This bottle actually took some time to open up and grow on me. At first opening it presented as very  malty and quite one-dimensional. It wasn't until after four or five drams that the bottle's qualities began to appear and shine. Once they did, though, this whisky quickly became a firm favourite. It's absolutely delicious - once water has been added - in its lip-smacking goodness.