Before you start asking us even more
questions, the answer is: yes. The question: did we get to try the 2013 batch
of Diageo’s Special Release whiskies. And very good they were to. As usual,
there was the regular releases from Lagavulin (the always grand 12 Years Old), Caol
Ila, Port Ellen (now on to number 13) and Brora.
Unusually, however there were some
extra old offerings from Talisker (1985 vintage), along with a 37 Years Old
Lagavulin, a 21 Years Old Oban and, the pick of the bunch for us, a 36 Years
Old Convalmore. Not something you see a lot of these days.
Now, there is no denying that this
lot are excellent whiskies... but anyone who has tried to buy a bottle of the
most sought-after of the collection will know quite how quickly they disappear.
Trying to bag one is about as easy as finding rocking horse poop.
Couple this with the new pricing
structure where a bottle of Port Ellen, previously sold for ‘just’ three figures, will
now set you back £1500, and you'll see how many of these top end offerings are out of reach for a lot of consumers.
(As an aside, unlike a lot of other people, I don’t
see an issue with these prices. Diageo are just following the residual market in what
it feels these bottles are worth; I wouldn’t sell you my house for 50% of its
market value, so why should Diageo sell you their whisky for half the price the residual market deems it is worth?)
However, these limited edition high
value bottles do create an air of exclusivity, which is where Diageo have
balanced out, to some degree, their portfolio of interesting single malts with
a series of new expressions for their Friends of the Classic Malts club.
On offer, initially, are two highly
interesting, triple matured single malts: one from Talisker and one from Royal
Lochnagar which will be available in the UK, Germany and Switzerland. In total,
across five expressions, there will be 24,000 bottles released.
Talisker
– Friends of the Class Malts 2014 Release – NAS - Triple Matured – 9,000 bottles only – 48% abv
Triple
matured in: “refill casks, charred American oak hogsheads, European oak refill
casks”
Nose: Big and strong, with some
smoke, salt and a hint of toffee. It takes a while to open up, but once fully
in bloom, the Talisker sea-salt notes are clearly there, with the triple wood
maturation giving more body, with some light honey and heather notes coming
through at the death.
Palate: Lemon and lime mix with peat
smoke and salted caramel toffee. White pepper and some coal dust appear to give
a full flavoured dram which just seems a little out of sorts. It’s like smoked
lime pickle in a glass.
Finish: Sour cherries, unripe kiwi
fruit and a hint of peat smoke.
Overall: Well, we love Talisker 10,
Talisker 18, Talisker Storm and Darkest Storm. This, however, goes into the
same file as Talisker Port Ruighe... lots of flavour but, like a child whose
family has moved around a lot, this seems to be a bit unsettled, a bit
misdirected. NB: it did settle with time (and we mean a few hours here) in the glass, but was still running around the palate with a little too much enthusiasm...)
Royal
Lochnagar - Talisker – Friends of the Class Malts 2014 Release – NAS - Triple Matured - 3,000 bottles – 48% abv
Triple
matured in: “refill casks, charred American oak hogsheads, European oak refill
casks”
Nose: A vibrant nose of granola drizzled
with honey, milk chocolate and honeycomb. Some linseed oil, blackcurrant bush
leaves and malted milk biscuits.
Plate: Rich and rounded, this whisky
has taken well to its three different homes, picking up something interesting
in each environment. There is honey, spices (cinnamon and cardamom), toffee
again and a hint of red apples.
Finish: A really lovely dram whose
spirit has been enhanced by the triple maturation and given a rounded balance
of sweet and spicy.
Overall: A great example of how
triple maturation can really enhance a tipple.
Friends of the Classic Malts can
purchase these offerings for £80 per bottle at a friendly local retailer in the
aforementioned countries, or you can pick up a bottle at Alexander and James,
here.
Continuing in their theme of unusual
bottlings for the FotCM club, which has seen an excellent Talisker 12 Years Old and an utterly brilliant Lagavulin 12 Years Old too, this Royal Lochnagar is one to
add to your collection. Let’s hope the other three releases live up to this
one and, at £80, it is a very fair price for an unusual limited edition. A
very fair price indeed.
Talisker, Royal Lochnagar... you
guess the rest, but I’m just hoping that Lagavulin features, especially at this
price point! Sadly, we’ll have to wait to find
out...