Clynelish 36 Year Old Single Malts of Scotland Director's Special / TWS Old & Rare 2019

Originally known as Speciality Drinks, Elixir Distillers was established in 1999 as the independent bottling arm of The Whisky Exchange, which launched its online retail site the same year. Their first bottlings were under the Single Malts of Scotland label in 2005, followed by the Elements of Islay range and Port Askaig single malt brand in 2006 and 2009, respectively. The company was renamed Elixir Distillers as of 2017.

Director's Special is a premium subcategory in the Single Malts of Scotland brand. This Clynelish was aged 36 years and is one of just 128 filled at cask strength. This comprises one of a series of exclusive single casks bottled for annual The Whisky Show: Old & Rare in Glasgow in 2019.

Clynelish distillery as it is recognised today, was built in 1967 to replace the smaller distillery next-door, which was the original site of that name. The first distillery was closed, but later re-opened, changing its name to Brora (but that’s another story). Clynelish is part of the Diageo stable, having been taken over by DCL in 1912. Despite being an important part of the Johnnie Walker blends, it has long been bottled as a single malt.