The word "cloying" doesn't necessarily imply that the thing referred to is pleasant in small quantities. "Cloying" also means:
Cloying: causing or tending to cause disgust or aversion through excess:
Cloying: 1.Unpleasantly excessive
Two different dictionaries definingThis dictionary defines that "cloying" can be used to mean "unpleasant due to excess", without implying that the thing is pleasant in small quantities.