For fans of malt whisky and, in particular, those who prefer their single malt bottled at a higher strength beyond the standard 40% ABV, there are some annual expressions and releases to look out for each year. The Diageo Special Releases is one such range and, for most markets around the globe, its annual arrival and launch is a heralded event. In a quirk of international marketing and timing, not all countries feature the DSR in the actual year of release. Australia is one such market and for over a decade now, each annual release of the DSR occurs in the year following the “vintage”. As such, March 2024 sees the arrival in Australia of the Diageo Special Releases 2023 range!
Tag: Diageo Special Releases
Diageo Special Releases 2022
The annual Diageo Special Releases range is always keenly anticipated around the world each year. Typically unveiled in the UK around October, many international markets don’t release them locally until the following calendar year. And so it is that, in April 2023, many markets are only just now launching the Diageo Special Releases 2022 range.
The Diageo Special Releases – first launched 21 years ago now in 2001 – is a fantastic opportunity to try some of your favourite distilleries in an expression quite unlike the regular version that you’re otherwise familiar with. The Special Releases expression might appear with a different or unique age statement, or might have undergone a different maturation regimen to the regular release. Also of note is that, unlike the regularly available expressions that are typically bottled at 40-43% and have been chillfiltered, the Special Releases are typically bottled at higher cask-strength and remain non-chillfiltered. The annual Diageo Special Releases also often include a distillery or two in the range that actually aren’t regularly bottled or commercially available – and so it’s an opportunity to try a distillery that you might not otherwise encounter.
Diageo Special Releases 2021
Of the many annual whisky releases that hit our shores each year, few raise as much anticipation and enthusiasm as the Diageo Special Releases. As always – well, at least in this country (Australia) – the annual set is released in the year after their namesake. And so it is that, in April 2022, we have the launch of the Diageo Special Releases 2021…
The Diageo Special Releases – first launched 20 years ago now in 2001 – is a fantastic opportunity to try some of your favourite distilleries in an expression quite unlike the regular version that you’re otherwise familiar with. The Special Releases expression might appear with a different or unique age statement, or might have undergone a different maturation regimen to the regular release. Also of note is that, unlike the regularly available expressions that are typically bottled at 40-43% and have been chillfiltered, the Special Releases are bottled at their natural cask-strength and remain unchillfiltered. The annual Diageo Special Releases also often include a distillery or two in the line up that actually aren’t regularly bottled or commercially available – and so it’s an opportunity to try a distillery that you might not otherwise encounter.
Diageo Special Releases 2016
Does the Diageo Special Releases 2016 range need an introduction? For anyone who’s entered the single malt whisky scene in recent years, the choice and array of bottlings, brands and releases can be overwhelming. Almost 30 years ago now, the situation was very different when Diageo launched “The Classic Malts” – first into travel retail in 1988, and then into the domestic market in 1989. Those six whiskies (Glenkinchie, Cragganmore, Oban, Dalwhinnie, Talisker, and Lagavulin) became the vehicle through which hundreds of thousands of people were introduced to malt whisky. For close to a decade they were almost the definitive collection and – notwithstanding the omnipresence of the likes of Glenfiddich and Glenlivet – it was only by the late 1990’s that other brands and recognisable labels started to consistently appear in regular retail outlets.