Clydeside 5 Year Old Distillery Exclusive (Cask 636 2020/2025)

Nose: Orchard fruits (apple, pear), oatmeal cookies, dark honey, vanilla, freshly cut wood. Adding water significantly softened the aroma, especially the wood notes which became background. Later, cherry nougat emerged. Palate: The initial taste was like fruit pie, fresh brioche, peach jam, and white grape juice. It was semi-sweet with a slight edge and some sharp baking spices. As it developed, the profile became smoother and sweeter, but adding water made the biggest difference. Diluting it to the mid-40% ABV range caused it to truly open up. Water also improved the texture, which was decent neat but became creamier with dilution. Finish: Medium. Notes of mildly spicy ginger snaps and fruit custard. This distillery was founded in 2016 and began production the following year. It is owned by a company associated with an independent bottler, though they are separate entities. The distillery is located in a refurbished historic building by the river. Their first whisky was released in 2021 and they now have several core range expressions. The distillery has an interesting visitor center focused on the history of the area and industry, offering various tours. You can hand-fill a bottle from a cask in the visitor center shop; the cask type changes periodically. During our visit, it was a bourbon barrel that had been the sole aging vessel. It was filled on March 12, 2020, making the spirit nearly 5 years old. It was interesting to taste because it closely resembled a 3-year-old expression we tried earlier. However, this single-cask whisky was at cask strength and almost twice the age, showing much more character intensity. Tasted at the distillery, April 22, 2025. "Good": 84/100 (3.75 stars)