Review - Diageo Special Releases 2020

 

 

It is that time of the year again - Diageo, Scotland's largest whisky producer, has announced the line-up for the 2020 edition of its Special Releases programme. The annual bottlings are designed to highlight rare or old whiskies from within Diageo's extensive portfolio of maturing stocks and are eagerly anticipated each year since the series was first started with just three expressions in 2001.

This year is one of the smaller recent collections and sees just eight bottlings with a theme of 'Rare By Nature' running through them. This includes the same eight brands as the 2019 selection and is designed to be 'an encore to what was a very successful and well received set of whiskies'. As with all previous years the whiskies are all bottled at their natural cask strength. This year's selection has been curated by Dr. Craig Wilson, one of the Master Blenders at Diageo.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (August 28, 2020)

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece received. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday. Within Inbox we aim to write a few lines detailing each press release/piece of news/PR event that we have received and provide links, where possible, for you to find out further information. Here is the news from this week ...

 

Review - Fettercairn 16 years old

This whisky is a new addition to the core range of the Highland single malt distillery of Fettercairn. It joins the also newly released 22 years old expression in filling the previously large age gap between the 12 and 28 year olds in the range. The whiskies used to create this 16 years old were made using rare chocolate malt, which is more commonly used in the brewing industry, and then matured in first-fill American oak ex-bourbon casks. They then went for a finishing period of two years in ex-sherry and ex-Port casks. This 2020 edition of Fettercairn 16 years old is bottled at 46.4% ABV and will be released to both domestic and travel retail markets - prices are £69 for a 70cl bottle and £80 for a one litre bottle. 

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (August 21, 2020)

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece received. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday. Within Inbox we aim to write a few lines detailing each press release/piece of news/PR event that we have received and provide links, where possible, for you to find out further information. Here is the news from this week ... 

Review - Ardbeg 'The Shortie' Smoky Porter

 

Ardbeg and water charity Brewgooder have been working on a project that sees the Islay single malt brand branch out in to the world of beer. The Shortie Smoky Porter, named after Ardbeg's beloved mascot, is the distillery's first ever beer and has been made in limited quantities to support Brewgooder's Global Gathering campaign. All profits will be donated to support clean water projects in Malawi run by Brewgooder.

The one-off beer, which is exclusive to the UK, has been made by William Brothers Brewing Co. and uses the same peated malt used for whisky production at Ardbeg. The Shortie Smoky Porter was announced in conjuction with the World Water Day weekend back in March. The beer is released at 6.2% ABV and will cost £14 for a pack of four cans. 

Allotment Drams - American Eagle 4 years old & Smokehead Rum Rebel

We have two more episodes from our increasingly popular Allotment Drams series, our short videos where we talk about different whiskies from the surrounding of our allotment in north London. First watch as Matt tackles the American Eagle 4 years old, an American whiskey from the state of Tennessee, on a very hot afternoon. 

Then he talks about the brand new Smokehead Rum Rebel, an Islay single malt that has been finished in Caribbean rum barrels, while also showing off an impressive haul of produce that he has harvested. We hope that you enjoy Matt's thoughts and tasting notes on both whiskies.

 

#allotmentdram

 

Review - Smokehead Rum Rebel

 

This whisky is the latest addition to the increasingly popular Smokehead range from Ian Macleod Distillers. The Islay single malt, which is sourced from an un-named distillery on the famous whisky island, has seen a finishing period in ex-rum barrels from the Caribbean. It was launched in time to celebrate International Rum Day on August 16th. It joins the Smokehead Original, High Voltage and Sherry Bomb expressions in the core domestic range and the Extra Rare and Rum Riot in the travel retail range. All carry no age statement.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (August 14, 2020)

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece received. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday. Within Inbox we aim to write a few lines detailing each press release/piece of news/PR event that we have received and provide links, where possible, for you to find out further information. Here is the news from this week ... 

Review - The One Sherry Cask Finished

The One Sherry Cask Finished is a new release from The Lakes distillery and join its range of The One, their blended whisky offering. It joins the Signature Blend, Port Cask Finished and recently released Orange Wine Cask Finished. As with each of The One expressions, this whisky has The Lakes' single malt at its heart and is then blended with Scotch single grain and single malts from the Highlands, Islay and Speyside. The Sherry Cask Finish has been matured in first-fill American oak casks and finished in ex-Oloroso and ex-Pedro Ximenez casks. These have been sourced from the famous sherry producing town of Jerez in the south of Spain

Allotment Drams - Talisker 10 years old & Lagavulin 16 years old

We have two more episodes for you from our increasingly popular Allotment Dram series. This is where we talk about a whisky and review it in the surroundings of our north London allotment.

This time Matt talks about two classics - firstly, the Talisker 10 years old from the isle of Skye and then the iconic Islay single malt Lagavulin 16 years old. Watch as he talks about both brands and why they are significant to us at Whisky For Everyone, plus gives his thoughts and tasting notes on each. We hope that you enjoy.

 

#allotmentdram

 

 

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (August 7, 2020)

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece received. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday. Within Inbox we aim to write a few lines detailing each press release/piece of news/PR event that we have received and provide links, where possible, for you to find out further information. Here is the news from this week ...

Review - The One Orange Wine Cask Finished

The One Orange Wine Cask Finished is a new release from The Lakes distillery and join its range of The One, their blended whisky offering. It joins the Signature Blend, Port Cask Finished and Sherry Cask Finished. As with each of The One expressions, this whisky has The Lakes' single malt at its heart and is then blended with Scotch single grain and single malts from the Highlands, Islay and Speyside. The Orange Wine Cask Finish has been matured in first-fill American oak casks and finished in casks seasoned with Vino de Naranja produced in Heulvo, Spain. Vino de Naranja is produced in the Andalucia region of Spain and involves macerating white wine with orange peel.

Review - Diageo Prima & Ultima Collection

The Prima & Ultima Collection are a new set of super-premium old and rare whiskies collated from around its extensive estate of Diageo, Scotland's largest produced of whisky. There are eight whiskies in total and each bottling is either the first or the last of its kind from a distillery - this marks a particular point or story in history of each place. They have been selected by whisky industry legend Dr. Jim Beveridge OBE, a 40-year veteran at Diageo and senior member of the blending team.

Allotment Drams - Roe & Co. & Scarabus

We have two more episodes for you from our increasingly popular Allotment Dram series. This is where we talk about a whisky and review it in the surroundings of our north London allotment.

First, watch as Matt samples the Roe & Co. from Diageo and gives his thoughts and tasting notes on this relative newcomer to the Irish whiskey market. Then on his next visit he takes on the Scarabus, an impressive young Islay single malt from the guys at Hunter Laing & Co. We hope that you enjoy both videos.

#allotmentdram