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: Talisker
Talisker 45yo Glacial Edge
If there’s one distillery that evokes some of the more dramatic images and sentiments in the world of Scotch whisky, it is surely Talisker. As a distillery and as a single malt, it cuts across the full spectrum of whisky’s nuances and features: Words often associated with Talisker include coastal, peat, remote, Highlands, sweet, iodine, Isle of Skye, wormtubs, smoky, brine, visitor centre, old, sea loch, Johnnie Walker, aged……it is all things Scotland, and has been since 1830. Fans of Talisker single malt have been thrilled to see its core-range and other portfolio offerings expand in recent times. From the widely available 10 year old, to the some of unique expressions in the Diageo Special Releases range, there’s always a splash of briny, peaty Talisker to enjoy at lots of different ages and price points. One of the more fascinating releases – and certainly one of the tastiest – is the new Talisker 45yo Glacial Edge.
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.
Matching a whisky to every James Bond film
James Bond and whisky? Whisky has been paired with food for decades, although in more recent years we’ve seen whiskies paired and matched to cigars, watches, music, and even movies! If you’re going to sit down in your comfy sofa and pass away a few hours being entertained by 007, then having a good dram in your hand goes a long way to enhancing the James Bond experience.
Of course, Bond’s drink of choice may be a vodka martini, but we can shake and stir things up for the whisky drinkers out there who are James Bond fans: Here is our effort to pair and match the perfect whisky to every (official) James Bond film.
Continue reading “Matching a whisky to every James Bond film”
Diageo Special Releases 2020
The Diageo “Special Releases” range is keenly awaited each year, and the latest collection (2020) is now being made available to markets around the world.
[Update: If you’re looking for info on the Diageo Special Releases for 2021, see our more recent post here.]
Whisky & Wisdom has attended the launch events for the Special Releases range in previous years, but with COVID still largely preventing such public events, a special media kit was prepared for this year’s range. The box – a very attractive and well-presented affair, it must be said – contained samples of the eight releases.
The idea behind the Diageo Special Releases range is to present and showcase whiskies from selected distilleries that differ significantly from the usual or familiar form that we associate with those distilleries. We thus see things like unpeated releases from Islay distilleries; or releases with significant age statements that aren’t normally available; or releases given special cask treatments or finishes; or simply releases from closed or rarely seen distilleries. There’s always something for everyone, and each year’s Special Releases range showcases a diverse spectrum of flavours and also price points.
Whisky’s impossible question
I was at a social gathering recently and found myself amongst a circle of newly-made acquaintances whom I was introduced to just five minutes earlier. In the course of our social dialogue and etiquette-driven pleasantries (relax, this isn’t a Jane Austen novel), the fact that I was an avid whisky enthusiast and involved in its industry came up. “Oh, what’s your favourite whisky?” was the question immediately thrown at me. I’ve been asked that more times than I can possibly remember, and I have my standard answer always queued at the ready, but I reflected on the way home later that evening that it’s an increasingly irrelevant question.