Overall rating
87.10/100
votes
85
Whiskybase ID
WB192412
Category
Single Malt
Bottler
Whisky-Doris (WD)
Bottling serie
Art Nouveau
Vintage
07.2006
Bottled
07.2020
Stated Age
14 years old
Casktype
Refill Sherry Hogshead
Casknumber
65
Number of bottles
363
Strength
53.2 % Vol.
Size
700 ml
Added on
24 sep 2021 10:13 pm by Jour.Ray
UncoloredNon-chillfiltered

Average value

€ 149.00

12 × in wishlist

85 × member ratings

158 × in collection

Whisky reviews for Secret Highland Distillery 2006 WD

23 users have left 23 reviews for this whisky. Average rating is 87.10 points.

  1. LDB scored this whisky 88 points Connoisseur

    Looks older than 14 years. And is unmistakably a Clynelish.
    And yes, there is alcohol in it ;)
    • Nose
      88 88
      Fine 'coastal' aromas such as wet pebbles, saltwater spray and fresh lemons as a picnic on a blooming sea lavender meadow.
    • Taste
      89 89
      At first a bit restless and almost angry. Luckily, with a few drops of water and a little time, a delicious and creamy honey world with candied ginger with lemon curd and mustard oil opens up - and the whole thing becomes more and more complex and yet remains round and beautiful :)
    • Finish
      87 87
      The refreshing continues in a long finish with a great balance of bitterness, sweet and sour lemon candy and honeydew melon sprinkled with white pepper.

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  3. SuppenHuhn scored this whisky 83 points Expert Junior

    • Nose
      82 82
    • Taste
      84 84
    • Finish
      83 83

  4. Patrick93 scored this whisky 86 points Expert Senior

    • Nose
      86 86
    • Taste
      87 87
    • Finish
      86 86

  5. hs305 scored this whisky 81 points Connoisseur

    [November 2022] A quick review of a sample...

    ...which is another almost completely leached cask maturation with not sherry flavours left at all. Any leached cask supports the maturation of a whisky very limited only, hence the profile smells rather young and still somewhat immature. A good cask maturation is very expensive these days hence many IB's have to go for such problematic casks instead (which is not their fault).
    • Nose
      80 80
      The pale straw colour supports the leached cask guess, especially if this was a sherry cask. The nose smells mashy-yeasty and still a little immature (which should not be with a proper 14-years long maturation). I do not find any hints of sherry aromas in there, and because of the rather weak malt aromas the wood is dominating the nose. This smells rather like a bareley 8-years old, sorry Doris.
    • Taste
      82 82
      The taste is about the same with tons of young mashy-bready flavours with simple barley sugars in a bitter-spicy wooden setting. A trademark taste of leached casks where a distillery profile is very hard to identify. This could be almost any distillery which produces a good-quality spirit (the spirit as such is flawless, it is just still immature). So, Clynelish is a good guess.
    • Finish
      81 81
      The dram arrives peppery and somewhat hot on my palate with a coating texture. The finish is of medium length but adds no new impressions (as with many young and/or leached cask's drams). Water does not really help to release new flavours (just the barley sugars grow a little stronger)

  6. JoshNRW scored this whisky 88 points Expert Senior

    I find the whisky really exciting, although it's far from perfect and had a lot of fun finding out what that could be.
    It has hints (slight waxiness) of a Clynelish but isn't as floral. I put the 14 standard next to it. The cask had an exciting influence and the sherry only had a very subtle, for me very good influence on the whisky and gives the whisky character.
    In addition, many notes of a dark, older bourbon maturation.
    Complex flavors. Maybe not the cleanest or tastiest whisky, but one I enjoy so much more than a plain bore that's just tasty. I wouldn't yet call its rough edges bad grades and was therefore able to enjoy it very much.

    I would rule out a Pulteney (HP anyway) and bet on either a stronger Dalmore with a lot of wood influence or a Glen Ord.
    • Nose
      89 89
      88.5
      Balanced and powerful nose with notes of wood, soft sherry acidity and spice, more like a smooth red wine. But there's that waxiness and something flowery of a Clynelish in the middle.
      There are also 5ppm burnt wood to guess.
      It doesn't matter which distillery it is, I find it exciting, complex and have a lot of fun filtering out and assigning the aromas.
      Orange and two grains of salt, as with smoke, only to be guessed at and even with the risk that this is just my imagination. milk chocolate.

      I actually think the alcohol is well integrated here and it also seems older than 14 years to me.
    • Taste
      88 88
      A nice sweetness develops, like an older bourbon maturation. In addition, spicy wood notes and the sweetish bitterness of orange peel.
      The sweetness is light and appropriate, here more a very delicate sherry sweetness than bourbon sweetness.
      Again, some tartaric acid and rotten wood.
      Slightly or not at all dry, rather a bit palatable and here the alcohol is more present in the back than in the nose, but far from spicy.
    • Finish
      88 88
      The mouthfeel starts out oily and waxy and the finish is at least medium, ending with light tannins.

  7. Totoro scored this whisky 83 points Connoisseur

    yeast party! :)

    Contrary to some of the notes here, I find that he looks younger than 14 years, not older. And you have to like it tart to spicy, especially on the palate. Urgently needs water (or alternatively a lot of air), but it can't really be balanced that way either.

    In and of itself I like the style, but more so with older malts. The moderate maturing time was not enough here to sand down the very rough edges.
    • Nose
      83 83
      Hey, yeasty, hello.
      Salt dough, yeast dough, mash, wheat beer. Nothing to feel from the sherry at first, zero point garb. Or just with a lot of imagination a slightly reddish acid (red currant?).
      Behind the wax, with a greasy touch. Gets rounder with more air exposure. 82 points without, 84 with water and/or leaving it in the glass for a long time.
      All in all, a very natural looking and – to put it mildly – *restrained* matured Crypto-Clynelish.
    • Taste
      84 84
      Hot and tart at first, spicy and mineral in the middle and then creamy and increasingly sweet towards the end. Up to the middle it seems to me more like a post-97 Glen Garioch due to this tart-hot-astringent uncompromisingness. Towards the end it becomes clear why Clynelish enjoys this certain reputation: the distillate alone turns things around, the cask has nothing to report (except maybe a distant herbal note). Great sweetness and creaminess, waxy, greasy, dense, with a floral-fragrant impact. Unfortunately, the alcohol bites the tongue again afterwards and promptly irons away the nuances that have just been revealed.
    • Finish
      81 81
      Again relatively hot and tart. White pepper, aspirin powder, followed by the distilled sweetener. No trace of fruit other than citrus.

  8. FrankH scored this whisky 89 points Expert Junior

    In the Whisky-Doris instructions it was said that this single malt should be given plenty of time to breathe so that all the aromas can develop.

    So tearing open the bottle and trying it right away is user error and not the fault of the product.

  9. whiskyinstitut scored this whisky 87 points Connoisseur

    Very tasty and typical Clynelish for a reasonable price.
    • Nose
      86 86
      Orange jam, biscuits, wax, slightly maritime and also mineral, almonds, vanilla croissants
    • Taste
      88 88
      Minerally powerful, citrus-heavy, orange peel without end, slight dryness with a lot of oak spice, always creamier at the back
    • Finish
      86 86
      Again a lot of citrus in the form of orange peel, nicely spicy with a pleasant bitterness

  10. Hvdree scored this whisky 86 points Connoisseur

    • Nose
      86 86
    • Taste
      87 87
    • Finish
      86 86

  11. steinrich scored this whisky 85 points Expert Senior

    I already had better clynelish;)
    • Nose
      86 86
    • Taste
      85 85
    • Finish
      83 83

  12. Fight65 scored this whisky 86 points Connoisseur

    • Nose
      87 87
    • Taste
      87 87
    • Finish
      85 85

  13. glen efze scored this whisky 82 points Expert Senior

    Secret Highlands from a distillery in Sutherland? That could be an independently bottled Clynelish. Is that recognizable? Here at the base, this whisky is rated well. 14 years Refill Sherry Hogshead - but the color is rather light. The color could also be a Bourbon release.

    Mmh, I wouldn't suspect sherry here at first. This whisky has light fruit aromas, it has pear aromas, not the ripe, juicy pear, but rather with a hard skin and a certain bitterness. Even 14 years on the first (and also second ...) impression would not have been here. On the nose, I also tend to have the fruit, pear and hard, white peach, with tart to bitter notes. Where's the sherry?

    I also lack the sherry in terms of taste. That could well pass as bourbon maturation. But 14 years? The Clynlish from the Core Range is 14 years old. And sorry, I'm missing the typical Clynelish flavors here. Waxiness? I have bitter peariness. There is no sweetness, the whisky is dry to bitter, astringent.

    The finish is also more like dryness. Yes, that's not very young - but the Clynelish waxiness is missing here. And the wood tones are old and worn out.

    I have no idea where the high ratings come from here at Base. I wouldn't recognize 14 years here, I wouldn't recognize a Clynelich here, and I wouldn't recognize a sherry here. And no, I wouldn't see a great whisky here either. As the color is, as the aromas are - this whisky comes from overfilled casks that only have a few sherry aromas to give off. It didn't ripen well, sorry.

  14. whiskyfan_olli scored this whisky 89 points Expert Senior

    • Nose
      91 91
    • Taste
      88 88
    • Finish
      88 88

  15. g00se scored this whisky 86 points Expert Senior

    The smell is initially quite alcoholic and flat. Time and air help the nose on the jumps, water rather not. That at most softens the rather tart and spicy taste. It takes a lot of getting used to, a bit like a pitched-up Glenfarclas. 4th Fill seasoning or would you chew on ginger. As written: water helps.
    76 pts is really hard, 88-90 but also ...
    • Nose
      88 88
      Light fruits, pears, ripe apples and Italian white nougat with nuts.
    • Taste
      86 86
      Initially still pleasantly mild and oily to begin with, the barrel wort quickly announces itself. Definitely more bearable with water.
    • Finish
      85 85
      A little too hot and spicy for my taste.

  16. dapoinbua scored this whisky 88 points Connoisseur

  17. maltman55 scored this whisky 88 points Member Senior

    • Nose
      very fruity, mandarins and almonds, the smell of alcohol tickles the nose, later floor wax and modeling clay
    • Taste
      Full of character, alcohol power well balanced
    • Finish
      long lingering with a rum note

  18. Gomez1981 scored this whisky 76 points Expert Senior

    I seldom had a malt in the glass in which the alcohol was so badly integrated for me, both in the nose and in the mouth. It actually covers everything, so that I can hardly see anything else.

    Different glasses were used, longer time to breathe today, a little water the first time - none of it helps.

    The base notes promise a lot better, but unfortunately for me this is a complete disappointment.
    • Nose
      78 78
      I get something floral and lemon on my nose.
    • Taste
      75 75
      Then herbs and cereal notes in the mouth. But as already mentioned, they only play a minor role.
    • Finish
      75 75
      Quite long, but alcoholic burning.

  19. DannyDram scored this whisky 88 points Connoisseur

    Orange peel, heathland, grassy, flowery, malt, honey, wax. Warming, somewhat lively, although 53.2% the body tends to appear thin and watery. The nose offers more than the palate and finish can offer.
    • Nose
      90 90
    • Taste
      87 87
    • Finish
      87 87

  20. DerDennis! scored this whisky 88 points Specialist

    • Nose
      88 88
    • Taste
      89 89
    • Finish
      88 88

  21. Bene37 scored this whisky 88 points Expert Senior

    Nose: citrus, wax, honey, sparkling, a few dates, figs and raisins, floral and somewhat grassy, oranges, apples - great nose!

    Palate: tangy and tingling, citrus, orange, honey, a few dates and figs, wax, apples, some sharpness from the not so well integrated alcohol

    Finish: sparkling, medium-long, waxy and citrus

    Evaluation: the nose is great, the rest is "only" good; it sparkles in a tour and has wax, citrus and a few notes of sherry (dates and figs) to offer. It has something, but it just misses the rating "very good" because of the not so well integrated alcohol.

  22. kanpai79 scored this whisky 90 points Specialist

    Very nice dram. Clearly recognizable as Clynelish…love it.
    • Nose
      90 90
    • Taste
      90 90
    • Finish
      89 89

  23. rampah scored this whisky 88 points Expert Senior

    Retail price: 75-80€
    According to some not so subtle hints, this is Clynelish.

    A nice surprise!
    Blind I would have thought that this has to be older than 14yo. Besides its colour, the caskinfluence is clearly there.

  24. mema82 scored this whisky 87 points Connoisseur

    • Nose
      87 87
    • Taste
      88 88
    • Finish
      86 86

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