Review #84 - SMWS 26.194 'Bish. Bash. Bosh!' - Clynelish 10 Year
A fun little experiment for today's reviews - we're looking at two 10 year old single cask SMWS bottles which were distilled at Clynelish. We want to look at the nuances that separate individual barrels add to a spirit, especially when the spirit has essentially the same specifications other than the singular barrels. How much difference does a unique barrel really create in a whisky?
This is the second of the two - ‘Bish. Bash, Bosh!,’ a 10 year old Clynelish.
SMWS 26.194 'Bish. Bash. Bosh!' - Clynelish 10 Year
Scotland/Highlands - Single Malt
Price Paid: USD 135 (2022)
Current Locally Available Price: No longer available
Age Statement: 10 Years
Strength: 59.1% ABV
Cask Makeup: Fully matured in a first fill ex-bourbon barrel
Details: 1 of 186 bottles, distilled February 8, 2011
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 5 times over the course of about 3 months; the fill levels of the bottles ranged from 100% full to about 70% over the course of the reviews. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes (occasionally a few minutes more). We did sometimes add water, as well
Nose: While this shares some of the baking spices on the nose, like cinnamon, strong brown sugar, and a hint of white pepper, this one is definitely more fruit-forward. We get creamy tropical fruit, tart lemon, pineapple, even some berry fruit mixed in. There's banana, sherbet, pear, and some peach stone fruit as well. The oak is rich with a hint of polish, and the experience overall is rich and dense, even slightly closed up at times. There's a mild spirit note, and we end with some syrupy lemon cake and some flowers.
Palate: Lovely tropical fruits of pineapple, lemon, orange, and peach ring candies; orchard fruits of juicy pear and tart lemon preserve as well. This one is also pretty rich and warm, with a heavier emphasis on floral and perfume notes, as well as some hay and a bit of mild bubblegum. The baking spices are here, too - sweet vanilla bean, light brown sugar, black and white pepper, and some caramel. We have bits of char and cinnamon from the oak, which is stronger and more drying than the other bottle. The mouthfeel is thick and buttery, and we have some candy notes as well as a lingering pastry flavor.
Finish: A lot of the same fruit we found in the finish of the other bottle - lemon candy, poached pear, and some sweet peach, but we also get tart pineapple and a hint of orange. The baking notes are toned down, with honey and cloying clove, maybe a bit of mild pepper. The interest here is really in the texture and wood notes: it's a medium-long finish, floral and strongly perfumed, oily and buttery, too. The oak seems dark and wet, and we finish with some soft flowery wax.
Final Note: Pretty tasty, with plenty of flavors to keep you busy. The juicy fruity tones of 'Bish. Bash. Bosh!' really pulled us in. This bottle felt a bit more refined as well, with a little less sharpness to the alcohol and nicer creamy texture. It has a stronger floral perfume in the finish as well.
Our Average Rating: 7.9 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 6.12
