Diageo Special Releases - A Few Surprises?

Blimey, it doesn't seem that long ago since we were bringing you news and tasting notes on the last batch of these annual whiskies bought together by Diageo.  This time around, the company had taken over The Deck, an installation, which is part of the National Theatre, with impressive views across the Thames.

One previous criticism of these annual events is the fast pace of them -  just an hour and thirty minutes to try all eight whiskies, which, when you're dealing with releases of this magnitude really doesn't do them justice. This year, as the night closed in and the thames-side buildings started to light up, it was nice to sit down and really get to the bottom of these extraordinary whiskies properly...and this year, there were a LOT of surprises.

The whole collection, as with previous years, has a core of releases - namely the big guns of Brora, Port Ellen and Talisker, flanked by Caol Ila and a younger Lagavulin.  This year, they were also joined by a 21 year old Lagavulin, a 25 year old Dalwhinnie and a 30 year old Auchroisk -  with all eyes (and palates) feverish in anticipation of the Port Ellen and the older Laga.  With a huge buzz on both whiskies (A: because of the previously highly regarded Lagavulin 21yo release and  B: the high price of the Port Ellen (£600) ) it was no surprise that both tables where the whiskies were being poured were three-deep with writers and journos trying to grab a first taste.

To be honest, last year's Port Ellen 11th official release was one of the best whiskies we've ever tasted -  balanced, effortlessly complex and lacking any overly dry notes -  could the same be said about this one - the 12th? Hmmm.

Port Ellen - 12th Release - 32 year Old - 52.5% 2,964 bottles  - 1979 - RRP £600

Nose: Extremely coastal on the first nosing. Crab pots, old trawler rope and iodine, blend into some subtle vanilla, wet hay and a very light smoke -  off the bat, you'd be hard pressed to think this was a Port Ellen. The nose is very closed to begin with, giving up only hints of what is potentially on offer. With water, fresh cherries, more vanilla, some orange blossom and a touch of blackberry cordial.  

Palate: This is where the whisky falls down unfortunately. Initially, very dry and woody, with a sooty hit and blast of brine. The smoke starts to emerge, but where are all the wonderful chamois/jammy notes of old?  With water, the fruit starts to creep out of its shell, but it needs coaxing gently.  

Finish: Very dry and woody. 

Overall:  Not the best Port Ellen Special Release, that's for sure.  I was about to write this off as a bit of a duffer, until our good friend Stuart Robson from Connosr/Whisky Marketplace handed me his glass, which he'd been nursing for a good 20 minutes and bang- there were the classic notes -  tangerines, chamois leather and creamy vanilla/fondant.  The bottom line is that this isn't a duff whisky, by any stretch of the imagination, but compared to previous releases, it is a challenge. It doesn't deliver straight away and when it does deliver, the qualities are only a shadow of last year's release.  Not one on my list of essential purchases. 

Next up: Talisker's oldest ever release.  Would this one be heading in the same direction as the PE? Hope not.

Talisker- 35 Year Old - 54.6% - 3,090 bottles - American & European refill casks - 1977- RRP £525

Nose: Pure Talisker, straight out the blocks, but with some additional wisdom. Burnt bonfire, spiced apple, red chilli, a big woody note, copper coins and some cherry sherbet, all swaddled in some gloriously sweet, nutty smoke.  with a dash of water, a malty side develops (like Weetabix), with a more pronounced fruit note developing.

Palate: Smoky malt, some additional smoked meat, with sweet fragrant smoke, cherryade, fresh cream and vanilla.  Not at all tarred with the rigours of age, like the Port Ellen. With water, some egg custard notes emerge, spiced apple and soft peat, alongside more bonfire smoke and vanilla pipe tobacco. Complex and majestic.  

Finish: Drying wood notes, but with some lovely lingering smoke notes.

Overall:  Well, that's a relief.  This aged Talisker squarely knocks the Port Ellen off the perch as the dram to die for and is quite possibly one of the best Special Release Taliskers so far.  It begins to show its age with the woody notes on the finish, but is just the right side of wisdom vs senility. 

Following on from this elderly man of the sea, we segue neatly into the Brora.  

Brora - Special Release -  35 Years Old - 1976/1977 refill American Oak - 48.1% - 1,566 bottles £400

Nose: Wow! It's a Super-Clynelish!!  a very waxy entry, with bags of fresh fruit, perfume, citrus notes and vanilla custard. The wax is like a mature heather honey, sweet, rich and unctuous.  With water, the floral notes develop with fruit gums, a touch or fresh mint and a dusty, leathery note.  Aged, but quite, quite lovely. 

Palate: Subtle and engaging, with more waxy honey, some citrus blossom, a touch of wet hay and a soft peat.  Water brings out more of the fruit, the waxy honey getting more complex.  

Finish: Dry floral notes, with a touch of oakiness and a lingering smoke right on the back palate.

Overall:  Another excellent Brora release. Despite its age, this has defied descending into a woody abyss and the classic wax and fruit combo ensure there's plenty of life and complexity left in this.  Superb.  Compared to to the pricing of the Port Ellen and the Talisker, this is also looking like a bit of a bargain too. 

A quick whizz around the other tables gives us an over view on both the Lagavulins (we reviewed the 21yo fully here) and bloody excellent it is too, with smoky malt, classic Laga carbolic notes, alongside some drying sherry wood (£350) When you have a bench mark as good as the 16yo, it's tough to really shine and this 21yo manages to keep the doubters at bay. The 12yo (£71) continues very much in the rich vein of the previous year's releases, with a more vivid nose of raw peat, spirit, zesty limes and carbolic soap.  

Over on the Caol Ila table, the addition of sherry casks has changed the direction of the annual 'unpeated'  version of this Islay classic, now 14 years old. (£66)  Gone are the candy floss and lemon sherbets, replaced by a dryer wood note, some butterscotch, spiced apple and hot buttered toast.  Tasty, but I can't help but miss the Victorian sweetshop explosion of the previous years. 

The Dalwhinnie (25 years old, £185) rolls into town, full of dried ginger, vanilla, mint humbugs and a surprisingly big hit of clove, no doubt developing from the rejuvenated casks used in its maturation.  

The final whisky is a bit of a curved ball, but in all honesty, it's the best Special Release this year and a refreshing change from the obvious contenders such as the (disappointing) Port Ellen and the (excellent) Brora and Talisker.   Roll up your sleeves and get stuck into the Auchroisk... you'll not be disappointed...

Auchroisk - 30 Years Old - 1982 - American & European oak -  54.7% - 2,976 bottles - RRP £230

Nose: This absolutely sings, straight from the first nosing.  Water melon, candied peel, sweet tea, a slight emulsion note, spicy sherry oak and a hint of charred vanilla / coconut.  Open, direct and expressive. 

Palate: More sweetness, with candied cherries, a burst of fresh vanilla pods, mango, some PX style spiciness and a touch of drying American oak.  This is the sort of whisky that keeps evolving, first from the fresh fruit and sweetness, then into spicy, woody notes.  With water, the fruit gets more perfumed and a hint of creaminess develops, alongside orange zest, milky coffee and chewy toffee. 

Finish:  More of the lingering coffee and tropical fruit notes.

Overall:  What a welcome surprise.  This is a superb release, full of complex layers of fruit, spice and creaminess.  Whilst it won't come top on the diehard Islay/peat fans lists (which is a shame, as it kicks the arse of the Port Ellen, the Lagavulin and possibly even the Talisker) for those in search of something different, you'll be well rewarded here... and at £230, you could almost buy three bottles for the price of one Port Ellen.  Think about it. 

Glen London Part One: White (Dram) Riot

You may have guessed, but weheartwhisky.

This week is Christmas and Easter rolled in to one for the London based whisky blogger.

In the space of 24 short hours, we get to taste the Diageo Special Release AND get in to the Press and Trade Period of the Whisky Show 2010.

Hallelujah!

How does one prepare for such fare? With a week of abstinence, of course.

Neil has been away with Mrs Neil, making sure that he doesn't become The Singleton Of Penge while I’ve been left to cleanse my liver, making sure each and every sample that arrives at CaskStrength.net HQ is filed away for the “quiet period”... goodness know when that is.

An absence of booze for a week, and therefore the absence of postings, highlights the madness to come.

So tonight we start with the Diageo Special Releases and this year we see some familiar faces: Caol Ila, Lagavulin, Port Ellen and Brora. But, like watching Manchester United introducing young talent around a spine of great players, these mainstays are joined by some unique and interesting individuals: Glen Spey, Auchroisk and Cragganmore.

In total nine single malts grace the “special” release for this year and a wide variety of prices, ages and finishes are available.

The list runs thus:

Auchroisk 30

Brora 30

Caol Ila 12 unpeated

Cragganmore 21

Glenkinchie 20

Glen Spey 21

Glenkinchie 20

Lagavulin 12

Port Ellen 31

Talisker 30

It would be difficult to run through each and give detailed tasting notes, so I’m going to highlight what, in our opinion , are the best.

As usual you can't just scroll to the end and read the two digit figure score, because we don’t believe in any of that bollocks. What does a score mean, anyway? Nothing to you to, because you’ve not had the same experiences as we’ve had in drinking whisky. So, read the notes and if you think you like the “broad-brush” tasting notes we give, then go and try / buy the whisky.

If you don’t, then stay the hell away from it. We’re not here to tell you what’s good and bad; we’re here to advise you and inform you if you wish to make a purchase. At the end of the day, when you pull a cork out of a bottle, we want you to love and to cherish the whisky inside. Not to have a bad reaction to it, to then have to fob it off on your Brother, your Uncle or your Dad. On that note, here are our picks of the DSR 2010:

Lagavulin - 12 Years Old - 56.5%

£59 a bottle. Yes please! This is a whisky that gives and gives and gives and gives.

Nose: A complex vanilla butter toffee mixed with heavy peat smoke and rich, runny honey. Classic Lagavulin Creme Brulee and creamy vanilla ice cream burst through giving a sharp, clean and fresh, salty nose.

Palate: Sweet and smokey with notes of citrus and pine and charred wood, toffee apple and lime.

Finish: Long and smoky with medicinal backdrop.

Overall: Just delicious. The Lagavulin 12 has yet to let me down.

Auchroisk - 20 Years Old- ABV 58.1%

Who? Auchroisk is not a name famillar to many. But this Single Malt delivers and delivers well.

Nose: Very rich and extremely nutty with vanilla toffee and rich sherry notes.

Palate: That nutty-ness keeps coming, with hazelnuts and walnuts but there is also some dust and dryness. Toffee and caramel and rum and raisin fudge with dry biscuit and pastry come to the fore.

Finish: Earthy notes with dark chocolate and hints of tropical fruit. Like and old Bowmore without the smoke.

Overall: At this price point (sub £120), get it while you can!

Glen Spey - 21 Years Old - 50.4%

Nose: Wow! Rich, very rich! This whisky has one of the most complex noses I’ve had in a long time. I could sit with this for hours. After the stewed fruit comes leather and polished wood. Antique wood and polish makes its way to the front, but with an energy, a zest. Energy, but complexity. All good.

Palate: Simple palate notes for this: Pear, almond and apricot tart with vanilla ice cream.

Finish: Long and complex with the pear lingering and lime adding zest to the overall character.

Overall: A real surprise. Well worth the money.

And a special mention for a cracking Cragganmore. More on that tomorrow. We're Craggenmore fans anayway, but this years Special Release really is worth trying.

All in, this is a good haul of releases, despite a rather dull Talisker 30 and Caol Ila that misses the point (it is like Nirvana Unplugged: does a good job, but you’d rather have the rawk guitars and riffs, over the emo vocals and overacting).

And the Port Ellen? It’s fantastic. A fantastic effort for a whisky destined for blending 28 years ago. Honestly, how no one ever saw the Single Malt potential in this distillery is beyond me. But there you go. The wonderful world of whisky!

Epic Day One of our London Whisky Adventure is over. More to tell tomorrow, but for now: bed.

Godspeed.

Spoilt for Choice?

The final tranche of Diageo's Managers' Choice bottlings has just been released, which includes several big names, including Clynelish and the much anticipated bottling of Lagavulin, as well as some of the other less well known bottlings. Tasting notes of the entire batch can now be found on our new Caskstrength Warehouse site and below we've featured a cross section of our thoughts on some of the riders and runners...

Clynelish – Managers’ Choice – 1997 / 2009 – First Fill Bourbon American Oak – cask 4341 - 216 bottles – 58.5% vol

Nose: Ahhhh... Clynelish! Welcome to our noses. Beautiful aroma of lavender, vanilla and parma violets. Clynelish and Rosebank have, for us the two of the finest, most fragrant noses within Scottish whisky and you can see why Clynelish is the choice for the smart blender. If grain is the hard tackling midfielder, the ball winner, then Clynelish is the creative, luxury player. The one you come to watch. The one who sells the shirts. Really, really good.

Palate: Waxy, slightly bitter and loads cream. Holding the palate it develops loads of lovely berry flavours: summer fruits yogurt! With water: Swimming pool notes come through and the berries are reduced.

Finish: Very “bourbon-like” with oak and red jam. Not too far from the Four Roses Single Barrel. With water: As with the palate, the gentle medicinal notes.

Overall: This is a cracking dram but for me, needs to be taken straight.

Auchroisk – Managers Choice - 1999 – bottled March 2009 - 642 bottles - Sherry Hogshead - cask 11323 - 60.6% vol

Nose: Immediate Caramac notes, some definite spiritiness, malted milk biscuits, condensed milk and dessicated coconut.

Palate: Very thin mouthfeel, almost disappears in the mouth instantly. Some crème caramel notes and hints of Toffee Crisp bars. With water, the caramel notes are more pronounced, but that’s about it.

Finish: Sweet and fairly short, with a slight malty note entering on the death.

Overall: The nose gives you hope that this will be a stunner, but it falls apart way too quickly and you’re left thinking about what you’re going to try next. Disappointing.

Lagavulin- Managers Choice – 1993 – bottled February 2009 – 612 bottles – European Bodega Sherry Oak - cask 4477 – 54.7% vol

Nose: Soft medicinal notes, with carbolic soap and earthy/dry undertones. Slightly vegetate, with some salted potato crisps. A hint of plastcine and some gentle wood smoke rounds out a very pleasant nose indeed.

Palate: Crunchie bars, soft peat smoke and a slight mossy/musty note. The salted crisps make a return and some lighter white chocolate sweetness rounds out the palate.

Finish: The sweetness lingers with the classic Lagavulin carbolic medicinal notes and a drying woody note on the death.

Overall: A decent enough bottling, but in our opinion this goes to highlight just how good the regular 16yo bottling is when placed side-by-side. Also worth checking out the Feis Ile bottlings from the same distillation date, (1993) which again probably have the edge here.

Knockando – Managers’ Choice – 1996 / 2009 – Spanish Sherry Oak – Cask No 800790 – 612 Bottles – 58.5% Vol

Nose: A classic sherry whisky – robust dry/fruity aromas, tannic notes and slightly bitter undertones. The wood has dominated the whisky, but has not beaten it completely into submission.

Palate: Very dry mouthfeel, some fruity richness and twigs. The sherry influence is, er, heavy and somewhere under all this make up is a fairly honeyed whisky with some lovely delicate notes of green apple and fresh mint. With water: much improved and the true flavours of this distillery come to the fore.

Finish: long and warming with heavy polished wood and some mint. With water: as with the palate.

Overall: Spain is, along with France, one of the biggest markets for Knockando as a single malt and we wonder if this had an influence on the decision making behind this choice of bottling. The sherry is very pronounced but fortunately hasn't killed off the distillery character and is certainly worth a try if you're keen on big, fruity beasts.

So there we have it- alongside the Talisker, the Clynelish shines through as probably the best of the Managers' Choice bottlings.