Douglas of Drumlanrig Clynelish 15

This is one of two independent bottlings of Clynelish that I've got at the moment, both at 15 years old. I've always thought that Clynelish is one of the most under-rated whiskies from Diageo's stable, despite its 'Classic Malt' status. It's strange that Dalwhinnie overshadows it when Clynelish seems so much more of a genuine Highlander (at least in terms of flavour profile, I guess there's no competition in terms of altitude!) Still, if it being under-rated means that the indy bottlers get more of it then that's fine by me.

Apologies for my photo which surprisingly manages to be even worse than my usual efforts. Despite appearances I hadn't drank half the bottle when I took it though, me and a mate are doing a whisky-share, going halves on bottles after a somewhat protracted decision-making process. It means that two of us contribute to the tasting note - more of a text-tasting than a tweet-tasting.

On to the whisky... On the nose there's almond/marzipan and candied citrus peel. On the palate it's fresh and grassy and there's woody spice (ginger) and tobacco. Additional notes (via SMS) suggested marmalade, lemon, wood, cherries and burnt citrus. With a drop of water (this is a 50% abv whisky and I thought it came across a bit spirity on the nose because of that) the sweeter spice notes came more to the fore. This is a good, proper Highland dram; not shy, but certainly not too shouty - long may Clynelish's profile remain firmly at the level it is!

A Day in York

My wife and I had a couple of days up in York last week. Due to the kindness of grandparents being willing to babysit we were well and truly able to indulge ourselves with lots of great food and, of course, drink.

Pretty much the first port of call was Goji café, for a great burger and an Elphin Brook. Even given the wide choice of places to eat and drink in York we ended up going back to Goji the next day too, giving me a chance to try the Mytholm Mist Helen had the day before.

York brewery is well worth a visit, nestling nicely within a few minutes walk of the city centre. I popped down after lunch to do a brewery tour and it wasn't until I walked in that I realised I'd been there before. When I ran a pub for Castle Rock we'd had a day out in York and we called in there since the two breweries had a connection from way back in the set-up days of York brewery. The liquid accompaniment to the tour was a half of York Gold and one of El Dorado. While I was at the brewery I heard a rumour there that Jaipur was on tap at The Old White Swan, which made a post-meal drink location an easy selection. The lack of Jaipur was potentially a disappointment but it was made up for by the presence of Roc Fall, a new Thornbridge beer for me.

Whisky cravings were sorted out courtesy of Demijohn, the 'liquid deli' where I picked up a wee sample of 15 year old Clynelish which I am very much looking forward to trying - more to follow on that one! I also had a nip of an 8yo Caol Ila to ward off York's notorious ghosts.*

We had our evening meal at Ambiente Tapas bar. Ambiente is a modern, fashionable, sort of bar, and I thought the emphasis on sherry to accompany various parts of your meal was a real plus - I opted for an Oloroso as an apéritif, and while I was tempted to indulge in a PX with (or maybe just as) dessert I resisted in favour of the excellent white Rioja we still had on the go.

* My theory of whisky warding off ghosts remains unproven. However, since I wasn't harassed by any, I am going to carry on drinking it, hopefully to continue the protection. You can't be too careful after all.