Clynelish Reserve House Tyrell

By Barry Bradford on February 17, 2019 • ( Leave a comment )

House Tyrell Clynelish Reserve (51.2%, OB, 2019)

ABV: 51.2%
Age: NAS
Bottling: OB, Game of Thrones
Category: Highland single malt scotch whisky
Cost: £48
Origin: Clynelish Distillery
Vintage: Undeclared

What they say

House Tyrell of Highgarden rules over the Reach, the lush and fertile region of Westeros. Like the Reach, Clynelish is positioned among green pastures and rolling hills, with scenic views of the North Sea. Bursting with fresh tropical fruits like papaya and mango that subsides into a creamy vanilla character. The finish is slightly maritime in quality with a delicate floral note.

Official tasting notes:

Light gold on appearance and bursting with fresh tropical fruits like papaya and mango, this Single Malt slowly subsides into a rich, creamy vanilla character. The finish is deeply complex with subtle sweet, maritime notes that interplay with the delicate light floral essence which warms and builds on the palate, revealing the signature sweet Clynelish ‘waxyness’ lingering on the palate.

What I say

Representing House Tyrell of Highgarden, this Clynelish carries no age statement but comes in at a whopping 51.2% ABV, and all for the same price as the House Targaryen Cardhu too! [SPOILER ALERT] The extinct House Tyrell of Westeros contained some of the best loved characters of the show – as they said in the show “When you play a game of thrones you win or you die”. Lets see how this Clynelish cuts it!

My tasting notes:

Appearance: Eiswein gold (7/20), numerous, slow, fine tears leave long, thin legs.
Nose: Spiced peach and pear, a little more tropical fruit, fresh mango with a little salt too, a little of that birthday cake – just blew out- candle wax, a little nutty and buttery too.
Taste: Sharp, a mixture of buttery and vaporous due to the ABV, some honey or syrup sweetness, apples, more spiced peach, cinnamon and peach melba, white floral and white pepper, ginger root, freshly grated nutmeg too. A dash of water reveals softened butter toffee and plenty of vanilla, but still with a sharp spiciness to it at the end.
Finish: Long, waxy, sweet and drying in equal measure, spiced honey, plenty of oak wood and beeswax candles.

Overall

Plenty of classic Clynelish notes in here, just delivered a little to spirity for me. This one hugely benefits from a good sploosh of water to reveal some softer vanilla notes. Waxy and spiced but a great alternative to Clynelish’s 14 Year Old standard expression.