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: Glenkinchie
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.