🥃 inn-out-shop

Needs a few drops of water, otherwise it is too one-dimensional. If you have a few drops too much, it will be boring. So dribble carefully :)

The moment of tasting and blind-tasting a whisky is something special. The first time i had the Cladach, i quite liked it. this time i got it blindly at van Wees Whiskyworld in Amersfoort on the 3rd of Septemper 2025, and the combination of both the smoke, old school plasters and waxy honey really made me happy! just got myself another nice bottle!

Golden color. Light oiliness.

Coastline Cladach is this year’s ‘secret bottle’, like Collectivum XXVIII was last year’s. In other words, this was revealed late in the game. Cladach means as much as ‘coastline’ and is a blended malt, composed of six coastal single malts: Coal Ila, Clynelish, Lagavulin, Oban, Inchgower and Talisker. This has got to be good, right? Hello! Immediate maritime elements on the nose (doh!) with salt, soot, seaweeds, oysters and a mild development of smoke. Blind, I might have mistaken this for a Lagavulin at first, which leads me to believe this is the dominant malt. But the typical pepperiness from Talisker is present as well, while the Clynelish takes care of a lovely waxy note. Some clear honey, limes and lemons, a leaf of mint and something that reminds me of butane gas, I kid you not. Some pastry, but all the way in the background. Know what? This is absolutely stunning. Great body and immediately quite dark and sooty on the palate. Great continuation of the nose with sweet and salty notes. Quite some smoke and soot, but soft and creamy at the same time, with smoldering wood, charcoal and liquorice, salt & pepper… You can almost chew this one! Medium long finish, but very balanced with an uppercut of vanilla at the death. This blended malt truly is more than just the sum of its parts. Value for money. It is yours for 160 EUR. I did not doubt and got me two bottles. Bring on a cold winter!

[Review sample from a half-full / half-empty bottle]

A blended malt from the coastal distilleries of Diageo: Inchgower, Clynelish, Talisker, Oban, Caol Ila and Lagavulin. Matured in first-fill bourbon casks, refill hogsheads of American oak, refill butts of European oak and ex-bodega butts of European oak. Translation of Cladach is “coastline”.

Sampled at a festival. A very much overlooked bottle, people dismissed it because of various reasons, but IMHO, this can easily surpass plenty of the recent Diageo Special Releases at similar price point.

Mineral and waxy characters are there, very fruity.

88.50 Nose: Salty and sweet smoky, marine, salty sea breeze, medical, nuts, salty caramel or salty peanuts, red fruit, wax, citrus, very embracing aroma changes with each sniff. Taste: Oily, sweet, chocolate, beeswax, light smoke, but barely perceptible, salty, sea, pepper, salted nuts, cocoa powder, burnt caramel, blueberry jam, tart wood. Finish: Probably the most smoky aspect of this whiskey, tart dry, lingering on the throat, red sweet fruit, pepper, salty, honeyed

This was really good. I had no idea what to expect going into it as the theme of Diageo “coastal” (or nearly coastal) distilleries sounded a bit gimmicky, but this was easily one of my favorite blends. It really hit that sweet pool chemical note, the one that defined youthful summers. It is a note that I strongly associate with hotel swimming pools as well, and no childhood hotel visit was complete without an evening swim in a very well chlorinated hotel pool.

Diageo’s blended malt has a different charm from Johnnie Green. The peat feels like something between green and island green. The scent was bright, but the taste and finish were darker than I expected, so it was an interesting drink.

Water: No, it is perfect in original strength Conclusion: Bämm, you can see here every single distillery, which combine into a great blended malt: the beeswax notes of Clynelish, the salt notes of Oban, the smoke flavors of Caol Ila and the heavy peat notes of Lagavulin, and in the finish the Talisker beats with his peppery finish by. The two lead malts are m. E. Clynelish and Talisker. Very nicely done!!!

Nice and a different kind of blend. No marriage and harmonious integration, but each distillery can be guessed at depending on the situation.

If Blue Label were this, nobody would have anything bad to say about it.

A very pleasant surprise, it definitely exceeded my relatively high expectations. A very complex, rich and luxurious blend. Very nice and sweet notes of fragrant flowers, exotic fruits, chocolate and fine peat. The taste is pleasantly malty, slightly woody, spicy, slightly chocolately bitter with a certain dose of smoke and ground coffee.

A pleasant but not outstanding blend. Still, Collectivum XXVIII seemed to me much more complex and interesting.

What a cool whisky! It completely delivers on its coastal premise, while backing up all the salt with unexpectedly full-bodied maltiness. I like the tropical fruit and the non-overwhelming peat as well. It really does remind me of an IPA, both in terms of the actual flavours and in the sense of how bracing and refreshing the whisky is. I do enjoy Diageo’s normal special releases, but I’d love for them to bring back interesting blends like this and Collectivum for future releases.

Nose: Smells interesting, but very alcoholic. I also have: rubber, selenium, light Highland smoke, pine nuts, ozone, light sherry, hard cheese, honey, thorn apple. In contrast to many blended malts, this one definitely has character. Reminds me of smoky glenturrets (Ruadh Maor). At some point, sweetened condensed milk will appear in the background. At the moment I find it too impetuous - and also too closed. Palate: Very alcoholic. Tastes like a (too) young Ardmore. I don't like it at all. Finish: alcoholic, herbal, with liquorice. Conclusion: It was really not a pleasure.

Clynelish and Talisker seem to be the lead malts of this blend.

A really nice blended malt, in which the character of the distilleries in it is clearly recognizable. The Cladach doesn't have any age information, but it doesn't seem to be too young. He looks mature and quite complex. The only drawback, as with the special releases in general, is the too ambitious price.

An unique blended malt whisky!

Hints of peat, sweetness, burnt sugar and caramel, citrus and green apples. Taste: Peat more dominant, species and pepper, astringent mouth feel, dry Dry, warming finish

N: First of all, there is a strong smoke, a very medical smoke like some young Caol Ila exude. From the smoke peel menthol and beautiful sherry notes with red fruits, some tobacco. The Sherrynoten are reminiscent of a blend of the Distillers Editions of Talisker and Lagavulin. Add to that the scent of a sea breeze. After some breathing, delicate aromas of furniture polish and old leather sofa come. Are there older barrels? M: A nice peppery onset, which comes out even stronger with a few drops of water. A beautiful multi-layered malt. Salty notes, red fruits, it always flashes oak spiciness, all interspersed with fine smoke. Q: long and smoky, light berry sweetness but after a while there is a bit of coin money left in the mouth.

Tasted blind. Other than Compass Box, there aren’t that many true blended malts (rather than teaspooned malts) at the higher end. Which is kind of a shame. This shows they can be really good; not inferior to single malts, but harder to market. It’s not the most coastal whisky out there in my opinion, but it’s very tasty.

Let’s get straight to the point. Solid 90 points for a NAS Diageo (!?) blend. I couldn’t have predicted it in advance, but this turned out to be (for me at least) one of the best modern peated drams out there. I got the bottle for around 100,-, and I would happily buy another bottle for the same price. What you get for this price is a very balanced dram with the characteristics of some of Diageo’s highlights, which harmonise wonderfully with each other. Some waxiness from Clynelish, malty and fruity notes from Oban, typical peaty maritime zesty Talisker, etc, all with a full coastal profile, a wonderfully restrained but tasteful old school peat (you don’t find this kind of smoke easily anymore) and thick mouth coating texture. It really deep, and keeps evolving; a nice large dram of this provides an neverending amount of notes over a two hour period. I could go on about this, but I think you get the point by now. To conclude, highly recommend, and I’ll be on the lookout for more malt blends with a restricted selection of known distilleries. I don’t know too much that falls into this category, but it’s an interesting premise.

Features a nice coastal smoke at the background, with several other elements coming and going at different points. Feels pretty (too?) complex on the nose / finish, but the mouth was somewhat straightforward. Color: Deep gold Nose: Lightly charred wood by the sea, cream crackers, faint hint of malt in the background. With time, spice, vanilla, apples takes over. Mouth: Oily, waxy, bitter, leather. Finish: Briny at the start, and some maritime smoke and brown sugar reveals itself a little later.

Smell: As expected, the smokers in the blend play a bit in the foreground, in addition to the subtle smoke also a maritime saltiness, which is perfectly accompanied by the waxy base tone of a Clynelish ... The proximity of the distilleries to the coast jumps in your nose almost figuratively - the interpretation However, I leave it to the finer noses in the base which Diageo branch contributes the respective nuance. Definitely a very differentiated whiskey, with fine salt caramel notes on the nose, freshly changed gear oil, but also yellow fruits and a hint of liquorice ... Taste: The alcohol is very warm at first, rather lean and freshly worked, again yellow fruits, again maritime salty with a subtle ash note, great balance, in the aftertaste a light sherry note, fine bitter note, medium to long aftertaste Color: yellow gold, medium water edge, clear Conclusion: It's fun - for the current tariff of less than 100 euros in Germany, a clear purchase recommendation and once again an advertising medium for the often underestimated category of well-made blended malts!

This one intrigued me & I tried. Color : Pale Lemon Nose: Ash, smoke, vanilla, citrus notes, chalk, sweet, liquorice, sand minerals. Canned Apricot. Excellent. Reminded Clynelish in a lot of ways. And Caol ila. Palate: Intense. Full. Vanilla. A lot of pepper. Honey sweetness. Mild oakinesa. A bit of menthol. Dry. Mild peatiness. Finish: Medium. Dry sweet. Apricots.A bit of pepper.

Nose: wine gum, pepper, subtle smoke Palate : salty, persistent wine notes, slightly smoky Finish : long, complex wood aromas

Definitely surprising, I didn't expected this seven malt blend to be this sweet, smoky and perfectly balanced. It is a perfect pleasure drink for light peated whisky lovers.

There is a smokiness in the background, but it's not weighing heavily. The taste stays put and warms the mouth and throat, but it's not sharp. Considering the whisky is most probably around the 100/120, I'd say it's well worth it's price.

Nose: smoky, sea salt, grapefruit, acetone, salty caramel. A bit of pepper in the nose. You can feel cherry pits from the tincture. Taste: delicate oiliness, smoky and marine flavors interpenetrate alternately, creaminess passes sharpness. There is a hint of grapefruit peel at the end. Finish: medium long, spicy, stale bread crust