Clydeside Napier
Oloroso Cask Lowland Single Malt Scotch | 46% ABV
Score: 7/10
Very Good Indeed.
TL;DR
A cracker: a bargain and right under my nose
Hiding in plain sight
It’s easy - maybe even inevitable - to get swept up in your own views about whisky. Especially when you’ve spent years exploring it, writing about it, tasting it with intent.
At a certain point, you find yourself at one end of the spectrum - the enthusiast’s end - where opinions are firm and filters are frowned upon. It’s likely that’s where most Dramface readers and writers tend to live.
It’s a passionate place, full of conviction. Chill-filtration? No thanks. Caramel colouring? Why the heck would that be in there? There’s a hardened stance on these things, and it’s not without reason.
My own viewpoint is strongly from the perspective that whatever comes out of the cask should pretty much be bottled that way. Celebrate whatever the colour is. Embrace the ABV; your average punter is capable of adding some water if they want to have it a bit weaker.
But here’s the thing: it’s also easy to forget the scale and diversity of the whisky world. Easy to dismiss the choices made by big producers as shortcuts or compromises. And maybe it’s a bit too easy to say they’re wrong for chill-filtering their whisky or for adding colouring to standardise a batch.
These decisions aren’t made in a vacuum - they’re made for a global market. A market that isn’t necessarily looking for unfiltered, naturally coloured, cask strength obscurities. A market that possibly wants consistency, and possibly for use in a highball; a dram that tastes the same in Tokyo as it does in Toronto.
These producers sell a lot of whisky. A staggering amount. And people don’t just drink it - they love it. They celebrate with it, gift it and share it. It’s poured at weddings, given as presents, and stocked behind almost every bar from Aberdeen to Anchorage. These whiskies - Johnnie Walker, Chivas Regal, Glenlivet - are part of the fabric. They’ve introduced millions to Scotch and, for many, they’re the starting point of a lifelong journey.
So it is easy, maybe even tempting, to scoff from the sidelines with a cask strength dram in hand, and say “they could do better.” And sure, maybe they could. Maybe they should. But it’s worth remembering that not every bottle is made for the enthusiast. Not every dram is meant to be dissected. Some whiskies are built for reach, for reliability, for the kind of drinker who wants something smooth and familiar at the end of a long day.
That doesn’t mean that people who care about whisky should stop advocating for better practices. It doesn’t mean we stop celebrating the distilleries that go the extra mile. Quite the opposite in fact.
There’s room in the whisky world for the purist and the pragmatist. Room for the small-batch, non chill-filtered, naturally coloured gems - and for the blends that keep the lights on and the glasses full.
So yes, it’s easy to get carried away. But it’s also worth stepping back now and then, taking a broader view, and remembering that whisky is, at its heart, a drink meant to be shared. And if millions of people are sharing and loving these whiskies, maybe there’s something to be said for that too.
These big distillers who chill-filter and add colour know their business; but let’s remember it is a business, and they make decisions to hit a price point and to have a product considered to be aesthetically pleasing.
But, in 2025, with a little searching, we will find plenty of examples of “bargain” Scotch whiskies which offer tremendous value at a great price point without them having to add colour or dilute to a level which means that chill-filtration is needed. And if smaller distilleries can hit that price point without the need to chill-filter it, that helps us realise the big guys could do so too.
Review
Clydeside Napier, Lowland Single Malt Whisky, 6 years old, ex-Oloroso sherry casks, 46% ABV
£40 paid
Clydeside proudly bill themselves as Glasgow's first dedicated single malt whisky distillery in over 100 years. Sounds like something to be celebrated to me. It’s within easy reach of Glasgow City Centre and West End so you would hope it has a steady pass-through of whisky tourists. As the second closest distillery to where I live, I am slightly embarrassed to say I have never set foot in it.
It’s a bit of an under-the-radar operation. There was a flurry of attention when the Stobcross release landed, followed by the Napier, but things have been quieter since. I think the Stobcross generally got a lukewarm reception on launch but I am led to believe subsequent batches have been a definitive step-up.
So, what about this Napier? It has been about for a while now and Dramface is just getting around to reviewing it. The name pays tribute to Robert Napier, widely regarded as the father of Clyde shipbuilding, whose original yard sat directly across from the distillery. A fitting nod to the area’s industrial heritage. It is matured for at least 6 years in Oloroso sherry casks, bottled at 46% and - on theme - is non chill- filtered with no added colour.
Score: 7/10
Very Good Indeed.
TL;DR
A cracker: a bargain and right under my nose
Nose
The nose immediately brings in tropical fruits and red berries with some peeled red apples. There is a bit of mango and a subtle floral hint, but not perfumed.
Palate
The initial mouth feel is exceptionally smooth and there is initially, for a fleeting moment, no trace of the sherry influence. That sherry does appear rapidly from that point but doesn’t overpower. The flavours have cranberry and orange with cinnamon spices and dark chocolate. A small amount of oak.
The finish is medium, with a gentle linger of spice, but no long sherry overhang. For a 100% sherry cask release, it’s relatively restrained on the sherry front - and personally, I like that. It’s not trying to be a sherry bomb; it’s also letting the distillate speak.
The Dregs
So where does the Napier fit into all this? At £40, bottled at 46%, non chill-filtered and matured in Oloroso sherry casks for at least six years, it’s a dram that quietly ticks the boxes many enthusiasts care about. Let us not be bashful, this is an absolute bargain!
In a whisky world that can feel split between the one end of mass-market and the other of boutique obscurities or small releases, it is brilliant to find a quality core release at a low price point. Clydeside may not be the loudest voice in the room, but with Napier, they’ve offered a quality, value dram and deserve to be heard.
And while we’ll keep pushing for transparency, integrity, and flavour-first bottlings, it’s worth raising a glass to the producers - big and small - who make space for both the purist and the pragmatist. A cracking dram for the price, and maybe, just maybe, a reason to finally step through the doors of the distillery that’s been sitting quietly by the Clyde.
I would love to see what this is like at cask strength. Of course I would.
Score: 7/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. CC
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