Time for a Clynelish 21-year-old today and this was one of the samples in my advent calendar from the good folks of That Boutique-y Whisky Company. Clynelish is one of my favourite brands and, together with Springbank, it is the brand that I reviewed the most. But that aside.

What I have never actually talked about are the distinctive labels of That Boutique-y Whisky Company. Each bottle is provided with a funny and/or informative graphic-novel-style design. These may include, for example, humourous references or in-jokes.

When it comes to their Clynelish labels… Talking cats are featured, yes I repeat talking cats. According to their site, these are derived from those talking cats that you can find everywhere on the internet. Very funny TBWC! But it is, of course, also a reference to the labels of the official bottlings from Clynelish, where, as you may know, a cat is always depicted. The Scottish wildcat.

This Clynelish is bottled at 47.8% ABV. There were 1174 bottles available.

Clynelish 21-year-old tasting notes:

Nose: Typical Clynelish nose. Beeswax and quite fruity actually. A hint of bananas, well actually the candy not the real fruit. But also oranges. and lemons. Vanilla custard. Red apples. But not much of the coastal influences here, which I normally get in Clynelish. Later chalk and kiwi.

Taste: Chalk and lemons. Pears and kiwi. Vanilla. Somewhat waxy again. Then it gets sweeter, with hints of icing sugar and caramel fudge. A little bitter towards the end.

Finish: The finish is mid-long with oranges and vanilla.

It’s quite nice. and it has those lovely Clynelish wax notes. Just as you would expect from a Clynelish. The nose is fresher and fruitier than the taste. But both work in their own way.

Sample provided by Atom Brands