Woodrow’s of Edinburgh Clynelish 10yo & Woodrow’s of Edinburgh Glengoyne 15yo (Warehouse Reserve)

Woodrow’s of Edinburgh Clynelish 10yo

Region: Highlands

ABV: 55.3%

Price: £68.00

Distilled on the 26th April 2016 and bottled on the 27th April 2026, this Woodrow’s of Edinburgh single cask Clynelish was matured for 10 years in a refill hogshead. Outturn of 289 bottles.

Nose

The nose opens with a big hit of fruit up front, peaches, green apple, mango, and a little hint of pineapple, and some beeswax as we get deeper into the nose. Alongside the fruit, there's quite a vibrant bourbon cask influence, lots of vanilla, coconut, butterscotch, honeycomb and toffee. The alcohol feels present, but it's not spicy, it just feels like it's giving some weight to the dram. Time and air brings out more of a ginger note,  maybe some buttery shortbread too, alongside a little lemon zest.

Palate

The palate opens with a burst of fruit, even more so than the nose. Lots of tropicality, mangos, pineapple, even a little guava, some apricot and lots of sherberty sweetness. There's a nice syrupy, sticky texture to the dram, it feels great in the mouth, and the finish lingers on for quite some time - we've left chewing the dram. The latter part of the palate has more citrus, lots of candied lime peel, some sour apple too, alongside some creamy vanilla notes giving a fair bit of depth. The alcohol can be warm in places, more of a gingery spice, but it doesn't detract from the enjoyment.

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose feels more cask forward, those butterscotch and honeycomb notes really start to shine through. There's still a good amount of fruit - more orchard in nature - sitting in the background. Not too much else has changed.

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate feels a tad more alcoholic up front, and has a bit more tingly ginger spice, but we're getting lots of vanilla, toffee and caramel flavours predominantly. The texture has remained viscous, and the finish lingers on for a good length still. We'd probably skip water here, it feels like it accentuated some of the less pleasant notes and removed some of the fruit we enjoyed.

Conclusion

There's been a lot of younger Clynelish appearing on the market within the last year or so, and that brings no complaints from us. This single cask has all of the tropical fruits and waxy texture we enjoy from the distillery, with a good amount of cask to back those up. Really good whisky, not much else to say.

Score: 8.5/10

Value

Good price for the distillery and the age.

Woodrow’s of Edinburgh Glengoyne 15yo (Warehouse Reserve)

Region: Highlands

ABV: 73.2%

Price: £110.00

Distilled on the 19th April 2011 and bottled on 20th April 2026 after 15 years of maturation, this Woodrow’s of Edinburgh Warehouse Reserve Glengoyne was drawn from a refill sherry butt. Bottled at natural cask strength, with an outturn of 115 bottles. 

Nose

The nose opens with black cherry, old wood, whole black peppercorns, iron, raspberry coulis, ginger juice and roasted coffee beans. Addressing the elephant in the room - it doesn't nose as alcoholic as it is - there's a spice here, but it's integrated really well with the sherry cask aromas, giving it quite a bit of depth. Going back, we're getting some strawberry jam, freshly snapped cinnamon sticks and a handful of star anise.

Palate

The palate opens with lots of cherry, blackcurrants, dark chocolate, overcooked caramel and a black peppercorn spice that lingers into the long, chewy finish. To address the second elephant, it's quite a bit hotter on the palate than it is on the nose - but again it's integrated and even though we're getting a little heartburn, we'd had much lower ABV drams show much hotter and unbalanced profiles. Time and air brings more coffee notes, old furniture, chili chocolate, and strawberries. The texture is good, it's syrupy and quite chewy. 

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose has richer caramel, coffee, cocoa powder aromas, and something a little metallic. There's still some red fruits in the background, and the alcohol feels softer overall. 

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate loses a touch of texture, but maintains lots of flavour. There's all of the chocolate, coffee and wood spices, alongside caramel, and some red fruits as the palate develops. Like the reduced nose, the alcohol does soften, but it's at the expense of the mouthfeel - it's to your preference. 

Conclusion

It's a very sherried dram, there's no doubt about that, but it feels integrated, balanced even. The palate is a lot warmer than the nose, however neither feel anywhere close to the monstrous ABV of the dram - and actually it's really quite drinkable given this. It's more of a one-a-night whisky for us, but it's really quite tasty.

Score: 7.5/10

Value

Not a bad price for what it is and the no doubt whopping amount of duty that was paid on this.

• 10 - Perfection. One in a million
• 9 - Outstanding. Exceptional whisky.
• 8 - Great. Would seek this out.
• 7 - Good. Quality whisky.
• 6 - Above average. Happy to have a dram.
• 5 - Average. Drinkable whisky.
• 4 - Below average. Passable.
• 3 - Flawed. Noticeable negatives.
• 2 - Defective. Significant faults.
• 1 - Offensive. Pour it out.

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