Clynelish 18 Year Old Special Releases 2025 51.6%

Nose: Mild, dry and slightly cooling. Top notes of lychees and mangosteens, backed by pineapple and melon. Beneath is a chalky mineral note lending dryness.  

Palate: A creamy-smooth texture evokes Clynelish’s familiar keynote waxiness. Starts lightly sweet and slightly sharp, with tropical fruit character. Balanced and lively on the palate, with notable power and warm spiciness later. 

Finish: Medium to long, spicy and warming, with a lingering, freshly fruity aftertaste. With a dash of water, it becomes sweeter and lightly spicy.

Clynelish is an east coast Highland distillery located just off the A9 in the town of Brora, Sutherland. Founded in 1819 by the duke of Sutherland the distillery was built with an aim to produce whisky to take some trade away from smugglers in the local area. A new Clynelish distillery was constructed in 1967 opposite the original one and in 1968 the old Clynelish was closed. Interestingly the first distillery was then named Brora and production started a year later.

Clynelish is now owned by Diageo and is one of the Four Corners distilleries for the Johnnie Walker blended brand. The whisky has a rich, waxy, oiliness to it which works well for blending Scotch. Much of the 4.8 million litre capacity is used for blending however there is a core 14 year old single malt. There have been numerous other recent single malt releases too, plus you can also find independent bottling’s for sale.

Discover more great Highland Whisky here