Review / The Diageo Special Releases 2023 : Spirited Xchange

It is that time of the year again. Each Autumn the Special Releases are released by Diageo, Scotland's largest producer of whisky. The 2023 Edition features eight whiskies selected from across their 28 single malt distilleries. The series carries the title of Spirited Xchange this year and each whisky has been selected by Dr. Stuart Morrison, one of Diageo's Master Blenders.

The Special Releases first appeared in 2001 and have been released annually ever since. The collection has grown to be eagerly anticipated by whisky fans, consumers and collectors around the world. The whiskies included each year are designed to showcase some of the best and rarest whisky, both single malt and single grain, held within Diageo's extensive portfolio of maturing stocks.

News / The Diageo Special Releases 2023

It is that time of the year again. Each Autumn the Special Releases are released by Diageo, Scotland's largest producer of whisky. The 2023 Edition features eight whiskies from across their 28 single malt distilleries, which show the diversity within their extensive portfolio. The series carries the title of Spirited Xchange this year and each whisky has been selected by Dr. Stuart Morrison, one of Diageo's Master Blenders.

Review / Diageo Special Releases 2022 : Elusive Expressions

 

 

The Special Releases are an annual set of bottlings released by Diageo - Scotland's largest producer of whisky. The collection of whiskies appears each Autumn and has been given a theme for the last couple of years. The 2022 edition has been named Elusive Expressions and is designed to push the boundaries of cask strength whisky through the innovative use of casks and cask finishes. Each whisky has been created by Dr. Craig Wilson, Master Blender of the Special Releases programme.

Inbox / The Week's Whisky News (April 30, 2021)

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. 

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.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (November 22, 2019)

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.

Review - The Game of Thrones Single Malt Range

Back in the Autumn leading Scotch whisky producer Diageo announced that they would be releasing eight new single malts to celebrate the eighth and final season of hit TV show Game of Thrones. These have been created in partnership with HBO, the show's producers. Eight of Diageo's 28 single malt distilleries have been selected to be paired with each of the seven Houses of Westeros in Game of Thrones, plus the Night's Watch.

The whiskies were initially released in America last Autumn and have now been released in the UK and Europe. Six of the whiskies have been specially created for the collection, with the exceptions being the Cardhu and Royal Lochnagar expressions - these are the whiskies that are regularly on sale but have been repackaged for this collection. Many retailers have now sold out of their allocations so you will need to search to buy bottles now, probably through auction sites.

Review - Diageo Special Releases 2015

The Diageo Special Releases are one of the biggest and most talked about annual whisky releases. Each Autumn, the largest producer of single malt in Scotland announces the line up.  The Special Releases programme has been running since the early 2000s and is designed to showcase some to the finest and rarest stocks in Diageo's portfolio, both from their current 28 single malt distilleries and those no longer in operation.  All the bottlings are at the natural cask strength, non chill filtered and limited edition.  The 2015 collection features nine whiskies.

Karen and Matt C were privileged to be invited to a small private tasting of the nine whiskies in London last month. The tasting was hosted by Dr. Nick Morgan, Diageo's Head of Whisky Outreach, and Maureen Robinson, one of Diageo's Senior Master Blenders. Both are part of the Special Releases selection panel. A huge thank you to both for the invite.

New releases - Diageo Special Releases 2014 (Part 1)

Diageo have announced the eleven whiskies that will make up the 2014 Special Releases collection, which is due for release very shortly. This programme highlights some of the most exceptional single malt stock from within their portfolio of 28 working distilleries, plus remaining stocks from those which have been closed. This year's selection of whiskies (pictured, above) are all bottled at the natural cask strength, are non chill filtered and all are limited edition. The collection again places well known flagship distilleries alongside very rare stock from the iconic Brora and Port Ellen, both of which closed in 1983.

Diageo Special Releases 2014

Around this time each year, there is always a ripple of anticipation around the whisky industry as they wait to see what Diageo, Scotland's largest producer of Scotch malt whisky, are to release in their annual Special Releases programme.  This programme highlights some of the most exceptional single malt stock from within their portfolio of 28 working distilleries, plus remaining stocks from those which have been closed. Some of these stocks have dwindled to almost critical levels.

Inbox - January 17, 2014

Welcome to this week's Inbox.  For those that have recently discovered us, Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. 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.

Have just tried - Clynelish Distillers Edition

Clynelish (pronounced kline-leesh) is a distillery that is located in the town of Brora on the north eastern Highland coast. It is a modern distillery that was opened in 1967, however the history goes way back beyond that date. There has been a distillery in Brora since 1817 and this was also called Clynelish. The current distillery was built next to the old one and they were run simultaneously under the same name until the old one was closed in 1983.

Have just tried ... Spice Tree from Compass Box

Spice Tree is a new release from Compass Box, a independent bottling company with a difference. A version of Spice Tree was originally released in 2005 but was discontinued shortly afterwards due a legal wrangle with the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA). This first Spice Tree gained good reviews from the trade and consumers but the problem lay in the maturation method. In Scotland, casks must have been previously used and nothing must be added to alter the flavour. Compass Box introduced new oak staves that they placed in to the casks and these created a greater surface area between the wood and the whisky, therefore increasing the flavours artificially. This method is similar to the one commonly used in the wine industry.

In this new version of Spice Tree, Compass Box have got around this 'technicality' by replacing just the ends of the casks with new oak that is heavily toasted and it is these new ends that create a similar flavour profile to the original oak staved Spice Tree. The whisky has been mostly matured in regular ex-bourbon casks before being transferred to the bespoke toasted end casks for the last two years. This new Spice Tree is 100% single malt from the Clynelish distillery in the north east Highlands, is bottled at 46% ABV and forms part of Compass Box's current core range. A bottle can be purchased from specialist whisky retailers and the Compass Box website for between £35-40.

Compass Box was founded in 2000 by John Glaser. The company has offices in West London and Edinburgh and buy whisky from a small number of distilleries and then craft them into their own unique whiskies. The range includes single grain whiskies, vatted malts, blended whiskies and occasional other releases, such as the recently re-released 'Orangerie', a whisky infused with orange. All are released in small batches, often using only two single malts to create a unique product with a catchy name. By doing their own blending and vatting, Compass Box have less restrictions than other traditional independent bottlers and is a former winner of The Whisky Magazine's 'Innovator of the Year'.

The colour of the new Spice Tree is golden amber and the nose is big, sweet and full of oaky vanilla and malted barley cereals. There is also a ginger-like spiciness and some soft woody spice notes that are reminiscent of cinnamon and nutmeg. It tempts you to want to taste it. On the palate, this feels full bodied, thick and creamy in your mouth. The whisky is packed with gorgeous vanilla and sweet malty grains. Beyond these are more delicate elements coming through - some honey, woody spices (think of cinnamon and nutmeg again), ginger, some lemon zest, just a hint of salt and a whiff of background smokiness. The finish is long, sweet and rich with a gorgeous nutty note joining the others (imagine toasted almonds and coconut, maybe?). The vanilla and maltiness fades slowly to give a lovely, sumptuous finish to the whisky.

This is a very good whisky that would be great as an after dinner sipping dram. We tried Spice Tree with some robust mature Cheddar and hard goats cheeses (as recommended in Compass Box's press release) and it went extremely well with both of them. Excellent stuff and very enjoyable.

Have just tried ... Clynelish 10 years old 'Provenance' from Douglas Laing & Co.

Clynelish (pronounced kline-leesh) is a distillery that is located in the town of Brora on the north eastern Highland coast. It is a modern distillery that was opened in 1967, however the history goes beyond that date. There has been a distillery in Brora since 1817 and this was also called Clynelish. The current distillery was built next to the old one and they were run simultaneously under the same name until the old one was closed in 1983. Now, any whisky produced at the new distillery is called Clynelish and anything that remains available from the old distillery goes under the name of Brora. The current owners of Clynelish are drinks company Diageo and it is the 4th largest in their portfolio of 28 distilleries, producing 3.3 million litres of whisky per year.

The whisky produced at both distilleries has long been well renowned amongst connoisseurs but they are generally unknown to the general consumer. The two main releases are a 14 years old and a limited 'Distiller's Edition' that is part matured in Oloroso sherry casks. Clynelish is readily available through independent bottlers and these offer a great opportunity to buy quality limited release whiskies for a decent price. This bottle is released by the Glasgow based independent bottling company Douglas Laing & Co and forms part of their Provenance range.

This 10 years old Clynelish is a luminescent golden yellow and it has a fresh aromatic nose. There is plenty of vanilla and oak present and these are joined by some fresh dried fruits (think of sultanas especially), cereal grains, a hint of some tropical fruit (imagine passion fruit) and just a whiff of peaty smoke. On the palate, this whisky has a zesty freshness (think of lemon zest) and is packed with sweet caramel, vanilla, honey and dried fruits (those sultanas again). This is balanced well by some woody spiciness (imagine nutmeg), that whiff of peaty smoke (think of damp earth and ashy bonfires) and a touch of saltiness (think of sea water). The finish is long yet delicate with vanilla oakiness, the dried fruits and salty tang prominent.

This is a lovely whisky that is not as rich, salty or smoky as previous versions of Clynelish that have been sampled. The fresh and sweet notes are complimented and balanced by the savoury elements, resulting in a very enjoyable dram. It is bottled at 46% ABV and is from a single cask, so represents good value at £40-45 a bottle. A very pleasant whisky.

Have just tried ... Clynelish 14 years old

Clynelish is located in the town of Brora on the north east Highland coast. It is owned by multi national drinks company Diageo and is their 4th largest operating distillery, producing 3.5 million litres per year. The distillery is quite new and only opened in 1967. However, there has been a distillery in Brora since 1817 and this was also called Clynelish. The current distillery was built next to the old one and they were run simultaneously under the same name until the old one was closed in 1983. Now, any whisky produced at the new distillery is called Clynelish and anything that is still available from the old distillery goes under the name of Brora. The whisky produced at both distilleries has long been well renowned amongst connoisseurs but they are generally unknown to the general consumer. The two main releases are this 14 years old and a limited 'Distiller's Edition' that is part matured in Oloroso sherry casks. Clynelish is readily available through independent bottlers and these offer a great opportunity to buy quality limited release whiskies for a decent price.

Clynelish is slightly unusual for a Highland whisky as it has some smokiness. However, this is in the background complimenting the other elements and is nowhere near the levels of most Islay malts. The nose is fragrant and has a sweetness that reminded me of honey and heather. There is also a whiff of smoke (think of a bonfire) and sea air. It is incredibly smooth on the palate and is great in your mouth, feeling creamy and velvety. The honey and heather from the nose being joined by some vanilla, a salty tang and some sweet tropical fruit (it reminded me of mango and coconut). The smokiness is there, as is an interesting spicy note (mustard, I think). The finish is long and enjoyable with the sweet elements marrying perfectly with the smoke and saltiness in the background. This is a very interesting and easy drinking whisky that would be ideal to introduce people to a smoky whisky, as the smokiness is not overpowering and mixes excellently with the other characteristics. It retails for around £30 per bottle, mostly from independent retailers.