When I started this blog, I had a clear plan in front of me. My goal was to (and still is) to share my journey of whisky exploration focusing on what you could call a curriculum of whisky. Going from the basics to more “advanced” (whatever that means) topics. I came to the conclusion of what I set out as ‘the basics” with my round of reviews on funky whiskies. The plan was to continue with three successive chapters: cask strength whiskies, cask finishes and then enter the world of teenage whiskies, focusing mainly on 15 and 18-year-old bottles.
As is often the case, the best-laid plans go awry. Just like a dog seeing a squirrel, my attention veered towards all the new distilleries making a name for themselves on the malt scene. And just as that dog, my attention darted towards them. And so, instead of following the laid path, I am going to take a bit of an excursion exploring the New Malts on the Block (I am dating myself). Starting with today’s review of the Clydeside Distillery Napier.
TL:DR: A very promising peek into the Clydeside Distillery. Still slightly young, but the future looks bright.
Score: 6.5, a good whisky, showing promise of even more
The rebirth of Glasgow distillation part I: Clydeside
I recently posted a brief history of the Clydeside Distillery when I shared my distillery tour experience. If you are interested, you can find it here. Today I want to focus more on the reception the Clydeside distillery has received from whisky enthusiasts. Some new distilleries born after 2000 elicit strong discussions in the whisky sphere. While some are well on the way to achieving cult status for enthusiasts, think of Ardnamurchan and Glasgow 1770, others have missed the mark, usually not for the quality of their distillate, but rather for the misplaced pricing probably aimed at recouping the start-up costs as soon as possible, think InchDairnie.
And then there are the ones stuck in limbo. Not upsetting but also not exciting anyone. Outside a few fans (who are not without a healthy dose of Glaswegian pride), I feel Clydeside has been stuck in this space for many. The fact that the distillery itself is positioning itself as a tourist destination for the whisky curious rather than speaking to the hardcore enthusiast might have distanced some. It does not bother me the slightest frankly.
Releasing a pleasant but evidently young Stobcross might have been a financial need. It was not the best move for the distillery’s reputation. During my visit to the distillery, I got my first glimpse of a more exciting future. While the Stobcross did nothing to get me excited, trying the Sherry-aged component, aged for about 4 years and vatted together with a higher proportion of Bourbon-cask-aged spirit in the final product, made me stand to attention. Now, that was something to be excited about. And while that Shery-aged sample is unavailable for purchase, there was something even better. The newly released Clydeside Napier, a 6-year-old craft-presented whisky, fully aged in Oloroso Sherry Casks, which I will review today.
Clydeside Napier
Specs
Price paid: £ 50.40 at the distillery with a discount, £56 full price
Bottled date: 13/06/2024
ABV: 46%
Natural colour: Yes
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Casks Used: Fully aged in ex-Oloroso sherry casks, for over 6 years
Tasting Notes
Colour: A light warm coppery amber.
Nose: Quite intense and clean. Red fruit, plums and raspberry, dried figs, cinnamon, clove and nutmeg, a touch of dark caramel and milk chocolate, With some time in the glass it turns into cooked plums in spices, a little dry currants, a hint of rose petals, oak and tobacco. The alcohol is not fully integrated, but not in a new-makey way, rather just a little exuberant.
Taste & Finish: Oily on the palate. The taste is more towards dried fruit than on the nose, dried figs and dried cherries, caramel, malted biscuits, dark chocolate, cinnamon, ginger and white pepper. Slightly young, but just. It does not have that spicy newmake taste which not fully matured malts can have. The alcohol is simply not fully integrated.
The finish goes back to red fruit, stewed now and spices and a hint of chocolate, a touch of tobacco, medium-long
Score*: 6.5
When I review a whisky like the Clydeside Napier, at just six years of age, I have to ask myself how to frame its youth. On the one hand, I could easily make a point this is still a youthful and not fully ready whisky (just short of it, though). On the other hand, new distilleries need a bit of leeway. Early bottlings are a promise of what is to come. And seen through that lens, the Napier promises great things to come. So, my score reflects this. This is a good whisky (6), but it shows strong hints of a very good evolution in the future. The Sherry casks used are of great quality and used expertly, balancing the sherry notes with a more fruity spirit character. And let’s not forgt the price, which is absolutely fair.
I am very much looking forward to seeing how the Clydeside Distillery will deliver 10+ years old whisky in the future
* Score are based on the scoring scale used by Dramface, slightly modified to allow half-points
Coming soon… more new malts from Glasgow
After writing my tasting notes, I always find it interesting to look at other opinions. Here are a few other reviews of Clydeside Napier enjoyed:
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