Sirius 31yo 1988/2019 (43.1%, North Star Spirits, First Fill Bourbon Barrels, B#1, 3582b): rumour has it that this is a tea-spooned Clynelfish in disguise. Let us have it. Nose: quince jelly, prickle-pear jelly, manuka honey, furniture wax, sappy trees in bloom, honeysuckle, lots and lots of honeysuckle, plump apricot all flirt with the most beautiful mint sauce from a top Indian restaurant. Breathing allows a leafier side to emerge -- apple mint, flowering bushes, green-tomato chutney. Cellophane shows up too, alongside pine sap and fresh acrylic paint. This nose is deep and complex for sure! Later, it unveils caramel and custard... No! wait: caramel poured onto flan. Mouth: a little soft, perhaps, it shoots notes of pine sap, mint sauce, with gorse bushes, violet and lavender foliage -- in fact, it seems to take on a very leafy and floral, green character, now. The second sip is more in line with the nose, with honey and beeswax. Let us make it mountain honey, made from flowering pine trees. Finish: the yellow is back, with beeswax, pouring honey, quince jelly, honeysuckle sap, flowering currants, apricot jelly, vanilla rice pudding, fruity custard and a spoonful of caramel. It is quite short and a bit simple in the finish, perhaps. For immediate pleasure, though, it is an ace. 8/10 (Thanks for the sample, TLWC)Now, a proper Clynelfish.
Clynelish 22yo 1972/1995 (58.95%, OB Rare Malts Selection): nose: this is another kettle of Clynelfish, unsurprisingly. Pollen, blooming lilac, a mix of old wood dust (not sawdust) and beeswax, a pinch of ashes and that is all before the fruit takes over; plum, apricot, peach, drying grapefruit segments, flowering bushes, gorse, bulrush in the spring. Maybe there is an ounce of old wood in there too, somewhere. Later, wild strawberries join the dance, as does hazel tree. Mouth: perfect balance at almost 60%, with a pinch of spices (lemongrass yoghurt, ginger shavings) and lots of apiculture products (honey, beeswax, royal jelly). Prickly-pear jelly is present too, some pollen, in the back of the throat, and the gentle bitterness of hazelnut skins. Hazelnut paste, actually, to accompany yellow fruit in a polished wooden bowl. The mouth has a little pepper and green cardamom, as well as a sprinkle of ginger powder, very much kept in check. Finish: this is stunning, with honeys and tonic mead (whatever that means; probably mead, mixed with tonic). Beeswax, furniture wax, cut, juicy quince, apricot, with the stone and all, a whiff of wood dust, cigar boxes, Virginia tobacco and still those juicy, juicy fruits. They are bordering on citric, now, with grapefruit, pomelo, a couple of drops of lime juice, pineapple, Chinese gooseberry... The death becomes a little drying, with galangal shavings, ginger peels and hazelnut shells. It is more than tolerable, but that wood spiciness will prevent top score, tonight. Regardless, this is amazing. I find it a little less impressive than the first time and am paranoid that it has deteriorated in the open bottle. I will transfer it into a smaller container to be sure to be sure. 9/10
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