Wemyss Malts - Single Cask Release "Cayenne Cocoa Bean" - Clynelish 1997/2014 - Tasting Notes

After the "In a Bleubell Wood" it is time to explore the "Cayenne Cocoa Bean" expression from Wemyss Malts. Coming from the Clynelish distillery, distilled in 1997 and bottled in 2014. As mentioned in the earlier post these are from their new range of single cask Scotch whiskies, limited to a few hundred bottles of each expression.

Noticed that I had to give this one some time to open up. Warming the glass in my hands, trying to smell through the waxy coating covering the nose a bit. The nose is very soft and feels almost a bot fragile? The nose is fresh, with honey/fruity sweetness. Lots of red apples. citrus fruits, vanilla, spices and peppery notes. Oranges, white chocolate creamy, red pepper and when a bit warmer this becomes more heavier notes of spices mixed with dark chocolate. There is a mix of fresh green orchard fruits and soft red summer fruits.

The palate is at first peppery and chocolate, and leaves you with a dry cocoa and bitter espresso note. But after that there is soft fudge, darker honey, pepper, thick cream and some fresh fruits. Like eating a good, but bit dry piece of brownie, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream next to it. There seem to be different types of fruits in here while sniffing it longer and also more kinds of chocolate.

The medium to long finish gives you a bit lemon freshness and some white grape skin feel, after the sweetness and pepper subsides a bit to the back. It gives me a feel of a dry cocoa powder mouth with also like eating too much jelly beans at once. Also there was in the very end a bit soapy/waxy feel? It has something complex, but is also a bit too soft to find the different flavours clearly? It left me a bit puzzling must say. Gave it a 7+ out of 10 for now. It is sweet, fresh, spicy and fruity. But there is also just something in this one I just cant lay my fingers on at this moment. Looking forward to hearing what other peoples thoughts are on it. It is a good dram for sure, but curious to see what others find in it. What are your experiences with it?