About the Selkie Queen

I picked this barrel at the same time as I selected the barrel for Idle Moments. There were a number of Clynelish barrels in the lot that I tasted, but this one had the most character of them all. After getting more acquainted with the whisky, I began brainstorming ideas for the release. I started going down the rabbit hole on Scottish folklore and became fascinated by all the stories of different gods and mythical sea creatures. Then I came across the centuries old tale of Selkies, which were seals with the ability to shapeshift into humans. I knew I was onto something. 

The stories varied a bit, but all centered around the same basic storyline. On the coast of the North Sea, people would see seals swimming ashore and shedding their skins to reveal a human form. These encounters happened at night when the sea creatures beach without any humans around. Legend has it that one particular occurrence happened on the night of the Supermoon, where the night sky was brilliantly lit and the ocean was roaring with waves. Suddenly out of the water came a beautiful Selkie woman, a Queen adorned with a great big headdress made of gold. As she lay naked on the beach in the moonlight, a man who was walking by became enamoured and obsessed, stealing her seal skin without her knowing. Unable to return to sea creature form, she followed the man back to his farm and later became his wife. The two stayed together for many years, all the while the man kept the Selkie woman's skin locked up in a chest, so that she may never find out his secret. Until one day the man comes back to his farm to find that his Selkie Queen had found her skin and returned to the ocean. 

Knowing I had found the perfect story to represent this release, I began the search for the perfect artist to encapsulate this creature, and came across the artwork of Hannah Yata. I was immediately struck by how expertly she brought to life such surreal anthropomorphic and zoomorphic beings. There couldn’t have been a better artist to depict this mythological being. Hannah’s work took over 4 months to complete from initial concept to final painting. This original piece is done in oil paint on 2’x3’ canvas.

TASTING NOTES
Distilled at Clynelish distillery and aged for fourteen years, the Selkie Queen yielded 250 bottles at cask strength 57.1% abv. Bottled without chill filtration, the color is light golden yellow.

Crisp as the winds that blow across the North Sea, this maritime malt shows heady aromas of quince, pear, jasmine, honeycomb, and lemon oil. The fruit and floral aromas can almost be felt, as if you are walking through a cool and foggy orchard in the morning when the temperature is still low and the dew point is rising. The texture on the palate is oily, almost paraffin like. The honeycomb like malt flavors shine through on your first sip, followed by a basket of stone fruits like white peach, apricot, white nectarine; all in various stages of ripeness. All of these delicate aromas and flavors are intricately wound at cask strength into a spirit that is well structured, with a sweetness and sophistication that will appeal to both beginning and seasoned malt drinkers or those who appreciate un-peated Irish or Japanese whiskies.