Clynelish Distillery Hand-Fill
Single Cask Exclusive | 57.5% ABV
Whisky Monday Pt3
Thank you for sticking with me over the last three days of me unpacking my most recent trip to Scotland - in bottles. What better way for me to process and share?
Picking up from yesterday’s tale of our stay at the Dornoch Castle, we finally made our way to Dornoch Distillery. Iif you’ve ever been to a distillery, any distillery or many distilleries, you would not expect this; it’s tiny. In fact, it was so small I nearly missed it.
It looked like a small bothy with “Dornoch Distillery” plastered on the front, and the distillery itself barely took up more space than a small garage. Connor, the distiller, greeted us and gave us the world’s quickest “tour”. By which, I mean Connor standing in a corner and pointing around the room and identifying the stills, the mash tun, the washbacks... you get the idea.
No spirit safe was present, just a tank which happened to be collecting feints at the time of our visit, which I, with permission, dipped my finger into. It wasn’t exactly a pleasant smell, more like burnt charcoal, hence why cuts are necessary with feints left out of the final product I guess. But hey, how often do we get to dip our fingers into running feints?
This was indeed a quick and brief visit, as there really wasn’t much to see, but I can’t stress how much more personal and geeky it felt compared to almost any other generic distillery tour, having Connor talk to us about the distillery as a proper hands-on insider provides a whole new perspective.
That was it, the Dornoch tour wrapped up in two hundred words or so, and it mirrors my feeling of the visit as well, a lot of travelling for, well, not a lot. But the “not a lot” was as valuable as any other part of the trip, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
After Dornoch, we headed further north to Clynelish.
I’d been to a handful of distilleries, but the architecture of this was by far the most modern-looking I’ve visited. A £150m investment by Diageo in 2021 had turned this distillery into a sleek, state-of-the-art marvel; at least from the outside. A lifesize - golden - Striding Man statue at the entrance made it clear: Diageo renovated Clynelish to impress. Inside, we were greeted by Ian, who led us on a tour of this legendary distillery.
The tour was roughly split into two parts, an interactive and theatrical experience to start off, and a distillery walk-through to finish with.
As we started the first part of the tour, Ian did manage our expectations by saying that this part is catered to children as young as eight years of age, so he asked us to bear with him should part of it feel childish. He then showed us into a whimsically set up room, filled with mechanical contraptions designed to amaze. Ian turned out to be quite the showman, integrating himself with the choreographed movements of the contraptions, from what I could observe, Ian could have been a seasoned Disney cast member turned Diageo ambassador. I would later be proven very wrong, but more on this later.
The second part of the tour, the distillery walkthrough, was fairly standard, as expected. As with the rest of the facilities, everything was immaculately clean and well put together; definitely decorated with visitors in mind. But as we walked through the distillery, we finally got to know Ian - the person. At the beginning of the tour, Ian was simply the tour guide, with a sense of humour, but didn’t express any opinions in whisky or other things, for all we could tell, he may well have no interest in whisky. But as we got chatting throughout the tour, it became apparent that Ian wasn’t just the friendly employee with a Diageo lanyard reciting from a script. No, he was a whisky drinker, a retired local who was happy to discuss all things Clynelish, Brora, Diageo, and so much more.
After the tour, we were treated to three drams: a standard Clynelish 14, a NAS distillery exclusive (which we were told was around 9 to 10 years old - although Bruce and I were sceptical, we thought it was as young as 6) and a Johnnie Walker Gold Label; selected because it contains a large chunk of Clynelish.Additionally, we were given a tall glass containing a small mixture of Johnnie Walker Gold Label and elderflower cordial, some ice, and a bottle of soda water, with which we can mix our own long drinks.
When Ian sensed our mild disappointment with the drams, he disappeared behind the bar for a minute and came back with a surprise… and wow, it blew us away. He revealed it to be the current distillery hand-fill, just as two of the previous drams, it was Clynelish, but so much more.
When we arrived at Clynelish, did we expect it to be something memorable? Possibly, but not in the way it turned out to be. The distillery experience was impressive, but Ian, a genuine whisky lover, provided the magic sparkle to elevate our experience. He could have stuck to the script, served the drams, and sent us on our way, but instead, he gave us something personal and special. Maybe it was a bit of salesmanship, but it felt much more like a personal gesture from someone who truly cared about whisky and the people who appreciate it.
As we sipped that delightful hand-fill Clynelish at the bar, my mind wandered back to the last couple of days: the journey, the distilleries, the laughs, the new friendships. What a trip it had been. From Tomatin to the charming Dornoch Castle and Distillery, to the sleek modern Clynelish, it was a beautiful mix of old and new, small and large. It wasn’t just the whisky that made the experience unforgettable, it was the people.
Review
Clynelish 12yo, Distillery Exclusive Hand-fill, Ex-bourbon, batch 2023/007, 57.5% ABV
£130 only at the distillery
Nose
Nice and crisp, slightly floral but mostly fruity, freshly cut apples, ripe bananas, marshmallows, candy floss, buttered popcorn, vanilla.
Palate
Surprisingly salty on arrival, some sort of salted vanilla; it is waxy, but not as waxy as I recall when I tried it at the distillery. Even fruitier still on the palate: bananas (banana milkshake specifically), apples, pineapples, pears, peaches, grapes, plus all sorts of citrusy notes. Cookie dough on the development; yeasty, as well as hints of metallic notes. Candy floss returns at the back and towards the finish, which turns into a zesty bitterness, the finish is not too long, but the sensation is moreish. I keep looking for more waxiness, and maybe I’m asking for too much, but it’s not the same level of waxiness that I expect from a cask strength Clynelish.
The Dregs
How would I describe the experience at Clynelish?
A Johnnie Walker (and Diageo) experience at its best and fullest, which entices visitors to spend money. In the end - and equipped with some knowledge of what Diageo is - I still succumbed to the experience. Despite yesterday’s resilience, give me a dram or two and suddenly I’m weak. I bought my souvenir this time.
The road back to Glasgow from Clynelish was quieter, as the drive felt longer, and all of us carried tired bodies. But all five of us knew that the memories created these two days would linger long after the journey had ended.
In the end, it wasn’t the whiskies we sipped or the distilleries we visited that made this trip so special, it was the time spent with friends; the banter and the stories took centre stage. It’s experiences like these that keep me coming back to Scotland.
In 2023, I came to Scotland for the whisky, but in 2024 whisky happily took a backseat, I was here for the people. The whisky is great, but it is no match for the people that gather around it.
At the distillery, wrapped up in it all, I thought £130 was a good deal. But it’s hardly a bargain. Sitting with it at home without the hype and excitement, I think it’s a bit expensive, and in comparison, the Lepanto cask finished Deanston at £135 was a better deal.
Distillery exclusives remain far too expensive. I shouldn’t have my souvenirs home with me feeling a little let down. That’s not the elevated sense of loyalty they were after, surely? Distilleries would do well to remember the days when no one wanted to visit. It was down to earnest, good people who became volunteer ambassadors; those who knew what was possible that drove the demand to make these pilgrimages and stick with the brand. And it remains people who make them what they are. People like Connor and Ian. People like Bruce and Anita.
With their ever-present generosity and hospitality, they crafted two extraordinary days, a journey that wasn’t just about tasting whisky but about living the whisky life and the friendships that it enables.
Now, the saving starts… for the next time.
Score: 6/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. MMc