21/04/2022 Clydeside

Clydeside 3yo Stobcross (46%, OB, b.2021, CBSCS 09845): nose: cedarwood sawdust and crisp fruit, in a green-grape way. It has liquid floor wax and dried apricots too that soon fuse and turn into nail-varnish remover. That all becomes darker, as pressed plums and prunes make their entrance. The one thing it retains throughout is a sprinkle of dust, which is unexpected in such a young whisky. Case in point: wax comes back, and it is dusty wax, as if the wooden floor had been waxed, then a feather duster immediately shaken over said floor. Odd. The second nose seems fruity in a more-straightforward way -- orchard fruit, now, and still a little dust. Something a little musky creeps up, far from wet dogs, perhaps akin to a clean cat on a spring morning. That and a dollop of freshly-applied window sealant (mastic). Mouth: warmed pencil erasers, liquid floor wax, waxy flower leaves in the sun (without any green bitterness), honey-glazed plums... Yes! this is waxy and fruity in equal measures. The texture is that of pulp-free fruit juice. Chewing on it increases the pencil-eraser impression and actually shifts towards the coarser blue tip of an old-school rubber, the part that supposedly erases ballpoint ink, yet only manages to tear the paper instead. Further sips have nut oils, linseed oil, watercolour and fruit stones. Finish: long and comforting, the finish too is dusty, at first sip. A dusting of ground cinnamon on a plum tart. There is a chocolate-y aftertaste as well; a piece of chocolate that stayed in the larder for too long and is starting to take a dusty taste. Repeated sipping adds chocolate milk and wood spices: ginger shavings, cinnamon bark, cocoa powder. One often hears or says that something is "good for such a young whisky." This, on the other hand, is good whisky, full stop. One can only imagine how fantastic it may become when it reaches twenty or twenty-five years of age. 8/10 (Thanks for the dram, JS)