Diageo Special Release 2023 week remains in the Speyside today as we go over the halfway mark. Today I have the Mortlach. (See here for the Talisker, here for the Lagavulin, here for the Roseisle, and here for the Glendullan.) Like the Talisker, the Mortlach does not bear an age statement. Like all of the others, it does have a silly name. That silly name is “The Katana’s Edge”. This is apparently because this whisky is comprises partly of spirit matured in ex-Japanese whisky casks; mostly, though, it gives the impression that Diageo’s Head of Silly Concepts may be 14 years old. Oh yes, there were also pinot noir casks involved, but the French didn’t get a shout-out in the name. Maybe next year they’ll put out “The Guillotine’s Edge”. Anyway, you may have got the sense that I have been dubious about the specialness of all the Special Release whiskies I’ve reviewed so far. The fact is the Special Release stopped being that a few years ago. That’s when Diageo launched the so-called Prima & Ultima series and moved all the heavy hitter whiskies to it—your Port Ellens and Broras and other whiskies with large age statements on the label—this year’s release had a 26 yo Clynelish, a 25 yo Lagavulin, a 26 yo Oban, and even a 46 yo Talisker, among others, to go with the 45 yo Brora and the 43 yo Port Ellen (£15,000 each, thanks for asking). The Special Release is now more like The Consolation Prize. On that cheery note, let’s check in on this Mortlach. Continue reading
Category Archives: 85-89 points
Glendullan 14, Special Release 2023
Here is the fourth of my reviews of the 2023 Special Release from Diageo. I’ve previously reviewed the Talisker, which bears the name “The Wild Explorador”; the Lagavulin, which bears the name “The Ink of Legends”; and the Roseisle, which bears the name “The Origami Kite”. Here now is a Glendullan that is older than all three of those; I believe this one’s special name is “The Macramé Turtle”. Strange are the ways of Diageo. So strange, in fact, that this Glendullan was finished in French Oak casks that had previously held chardonnay. Will that be enough to make Glendullan special? Let’s see.
Glendullan 14, Special Release 2023 (55%; Chardonnay de Bourgogne French Oak Finish; from a bottle split)
Nose: A very nice opening with honey, lemon, peach and cream; just a bit of toasted oak in the background and on the second sniff, some grass. As it sits there’s some overripe pear in there as well. A few drops of water push the oak back and make the fruit a little muskier still. Continue reading
Roseisle 12, Special Release 2023
I closed out November with reviews of two of the whiskies in Diageo’s Special Release slate for 2023 (the Talisker and the Lagavulin). Over the next two weeks I will post my reviews of the rest. The third is a release that does in fact count as a special release. Not on account of its age but because it is the first release from the distillery. Roseisle was officially opened in 2010 in the Speyside. It was built by Diageo to produce a high volume of malt for its blends. Larger than Diageo’s classic distilleries, with 14 stills and a production capacity of 10 million liters per annum, this was nobody’s idea of a romantic operation. Still, it’s exciting to drink the first release of any distillery, especially when that first release is not new make or just over 3 years old. I think I remember reading that they were set up to produce all kinds of malts for different blending needs. As to whether that’s proven true in practice, I don’t know but I do know that I have no idea what to expect of this malt. The packaging mysteriously says the spirit is from “first-fill bourbon & refill casks”. That’s different from “first-fill and refill bourbon casks”. Does that imply that the refill casks had previously held other contents? I can no more answer that question than tell you why the hell they gave this the name, “The Origami Kite”. But I can tell you what I think of it. Continue reading
Lagavulin 12, Special Release 2023
Alright, I started the month with a heavily peated whisky from Islay’s south shore, and so it’s only fitting to close it with another. Circle of life and what not; as written in the Ink of Legends. That’s a non sequitur, you’re thinking, but really it’s a very smooth transition. You see, “The Ink of Legends” is the silly name Diageo has given the 2023 release of the hallowed Lagavulin 12 CS. You may recall that that Monday’s Talisker bore the sobriquet, “The Wild Explorador”. Possibly that name has some connection to the fact that the Talisker contains spirit finished in a trio of port casks; quite possibly “The Ink of Legends” similarly has some connection to this Lagavulin’s own finish. Yes, it’s not a pure ex-bourbon Lagavulin 12 as used to be the norm. When did they stop being pure ex-bourbon releases, you ask? The 2021—which bore the name “The Lion’s Fire”—was ex-bourbon. The 2022 edition—“The Flames of the Phoenix”, if you must know—included virgin oak casks in the mix, and was—as far as I know—the first to depart from the ex-bourbon tradition (I never did get my hands on any of that one). Well, this year the distillery has gone from fire and flames to ink, and they’ve also gone quite a distance from virgin oak. No, the ink in question was not secreted by last year’s “Lustrous Creature of the Depths“; this year’s Lagavulin 12 was finished in tequila casks. I don’t believe I’ve ever reviewed or tasted a tequila cask finish before. Well, I’ll try anything once. Okay, so I tried the Balcones Brimstone twice—I’ll obviously try anything twice. Continue reading
Talisker, Special Release 2023
After a week of single grain whiskies (from Cameronbridge, Cambus and Carsebridge), let’s end the month with a couple of whiskies in Diageo’s Special Release slate for 2023. The first two weeks of December will feature the rest of the whiskies in the lineup. First up is the Talisker, which is such a special release that it does not have an age statement. It does have a silly name though: The Wild Explorador (I’m sure there’s a reason for this but I will try not to find out what it is). Last year’s Special Release Talisker also had a silly name though—The Lustrous Creature of the Depths—and I quite liked it anyway (it also had an age statement). So, what makes this one special? Perhaps it’s the complicated finish regimen. It would be easy to say that this is a port finished Talisker, and it is; but it was finished in casks that had previously held not one, not two, but three types of port (cue Diageo’s Head of Silly Concepts next year, saying “Fuck it, we’re going to seven”). The port casks involved had previously held white port, tawny port and ruby port. In case the white port thing sounds familiar, this year’s Laphroaig Cairdeas was also finished in white port casks (along with madeira). Typical: you go more than a decade without encountering whiskies from white port casks and then two come at once. Anyway, let’s see what this is like. Continue reading
Cambus 30, 1989 (Alambic Classique)
My second week of reviews of older single grain whiskies got off to a decent start with the Cameronbridge 27, 1990 bottled by Jack Wieber for their 20th anniversary. Here now is another sherried single grain bottled for another German indie, Alambic Classique. Where the Cameronbridge was a sherry finish, this 30 yo Cambus was entirely matured in a sherry cask (or so I think anyway). The Cameronbridge was let down a bit by sherry separation; in theory at least that shouldn’t happen here. Let’s see if that’s the case.
Cambus 30, 1989 (61.1%; Alambic Classique; sherry cask 19094; from a bottle split)
Nose: Bright orange and polished oak on the first sniff; some brandied raisins on the second. The oak expands a little as it sits and then there are hints of sweeter, muskier fruit (roasted pineapple?) and some cereals. Bitter caramel here too with time. A few drops of water push the oak and caramel back and bring out some apricot and more orange and also some toffee. Continue reading
Cameronbridge 27, 1990 (Jack Wieber)
I did a week of reviews of old single grain Scotch whiskies in October: a 43 yo North of Scotland, a 43 yo Invergordon, and a 40 yo Caledonian. Of the three, I was only particularly enthused by the Caledonian. Best to quit while ahead, you might say. Accordingly, here is another week of reviews of old single grain Scotch whiskies. Three completely different distilleries this time, all of whose names start with “c” (a good omen perhaps). They’re also all either from sherry casks or sherry finishes (the previous trio were all ex-bourbon). They’re also not quite as old as that 40-something trio. Well, one of them is older than all three of those but the other two are quite a bit younger. We’ll start the week with the youngest, a 27 yo Cameronbridge that was distilled in 1990 and received a sherry finish (of what duration, I do not know) before it was bottled in 2017 by the German bottler, Jack Wieber on the occasion of their 20th anniversary. You’d expect a quality pick for the occasion. Let’s see what I make of it. Continue reading
Edradour 12, 2010, Super Tuscan Cask (for Spec’s)
This has been a mult-themed week. All Edradours. All single casks bottled for Spec’s in Texas. All wine casks of one kind or the other. The week got off to a rocky start on Monday with a 10 yo chardonnay cask that had just a bit too much sulphur in it. Wednesday’s 12 yo moscatel cask presented a course correction. Let’s see if we can remain on a positive trajectory with the last cask, which is also a 12 yo distilled in 2010 (and a fairly proximate cask number). I’m a bit nervous as it’s a red wine cask. I don’t have the best history with red wine cask whiskies: I really did not like the last red wine-bothered whisky I reviewed (this Talisker handfill). Let’s give it a go.
Edradour 12, 2010, Super Tuscan Cask (54.6%; cask 93; for Spec’s; from a bottle split)
Nose: The nutty, beany notes are trying, they’re trying hard, but they’re mostly covered up by the wine. The good news is there’s no eau de cologne, just some red fruit (cherry) and a touch of orange peel. As it sits, some of the nutty/beany complex emerges. With more time still there are softer, sweeter notes of cream and butterscotch. Water brings out more of the citrus—and it’s brighter now; some plum in there too now. Continue reading
Edradour 12, 2010, Moscatel Cask (for Spec’s)
This week I’m reviewing single casks of Edradour that were recently bottled for Spec’s in Texas; the further twist is that they’re all wine casks of one kind or the other. The series didn’t get off to the best start on Monday. That 10 yo Chardonnay cask had a little too much sulphur in it even for a non-sulphur-phobe like me. Water rescued it but, on the whole, it was underwhelming. Today’s cask, two years older and filled a year prior, is a moscatel cask. I don’t know that I’ve ever had a moscatel cask Edradour or Ballechin before. Let’s hope it gets the week back on track.
Edradour 12, 2010, Moscatel Cask (53.1%; for Spec’s; cask 88; from a bottle split)
Nose: Starts out nutty, beany and yeasty, just like the chardonnay cask. Some roasted malt on the second sniff and then a big wave of citrus (lime peel) and chalk. Spicier here too with time even as some sweeter fruit is teased—let’s see if water brings it out. No, not really; in fact, it washes it out. Continue reading
Compass Box, The Circle No. 2
I am at the end of my week of Compass Box reviews and you’ll be relieved to hear that I’m not closing it out with another release from seven years ago. The last review of the week is of a release from just last year and it was not made as protest against whisky industry regulations. It seems to have some connection to a international bartender conversation called the Circle. This is the Circle No. 2, which implies—if you’re good with the detective work like me—that there was another release before that. And for all we know there may have been one after as well. It’s also different from the Enlightenment and Three Year Old Deluxe in that it’s got a lot more parts to it. While the Enlightenment had malt from four distilleries in it, and the Three Year Old Deluxe had malt from only two distilleries in it, this has malt from five distilleries, as well as a not-inconsiderable portion of blended whisky. About half of it is bourbon cask Glen Elgin and another 17% or so is bourbon cask Speyburn. The remaining 33% is made up of first-fill sherry hogshead Ardmore (2.2%), first-fill sherry butt Teaninich (13.5%), a little bit of wine cask Linkwood (2.3%) and that parcel of blended Scotch, said to be “primarily first-fill sherry butt” (14.3%) . I got all this from Compass Box’s fact sheet, which also tells me that I might know the person who composed this whisky. Let’s hope I like it. Continue reading
Compass Box, Three Year Old Deluxe
Here is the second Compass Box review of the week. The first was of the Enlightenment, which was released in April 2016 as a response to EU and UK regulations that forbid whisky producers from disclosing the ages of constituent whiskies in their blends/vattings (at least I think that’s what they were responding to—it’s been a while and I confess I didn’t follow the drama very closely even then). Today’s review is of the so-called Three Year Old Deluxe which was released a few months later in August 2016 and was marketed as yet another salvo against the arbitrariness of those regulations. Here, the whiskymakers told us, they had composed a whisky that comprised only 1% of a 3 yo single malt from a highlands distillery (“near the village of Brora”; i.e Clynelish) and 90% of “considerably older” whisky from the same distillery; the remaining 9% came from a distillery on Skye (i.e Talisker). Of course, by the regulations the only age that can be disclosed is that of the youngest whisky in the vatting, making it a 3 yo and isn’t that silly? Continue reading
Compass Box, Enlightenment
For the first full week of November let’s do a series of reviews of releases from the boutique indie bottler, Compass Box. As you doubtless know, unlike most Scotch whisky indies, Compass Box does not release casks of whiskies from distilleries but their own blends of one kind or the other: vatted malts (or whatever they’re officially called now), blends of malt and grain, all grain whisky: they’ve released them all. They are very popular with the whisky geek corner of the market. I have previously aired my skepticism about aspects of Compass Box’s presentation and appeal to this part of the market. In short, I’ve speculated that their bespoke presentation and facility with the language of whisky geekdom is a large part of their success. The whiskies themselves have often seemed to me to be adjacent to the presentation of them. That said, I’ve liked a number of their releases even as I’ve wondered about the fuss. Enlightenment, released in 2016, was one of their releases about which a fair bit of fuss was made. Continue reading
Laphroaig Cairdeas 2023, White Port & Madeira
My whisky readership has shrunk dramatically in recent years (I base this entirely on the lowered level of engagement with my whisky reviews). And so I almost feel I should apologize to the little that remains of that readership for trying their patience in October. So far this month I’ve posted two weeks of reviews of mezcal, one week of reviews of brandy, and one week of reviews of grain whisky (I am assuming here that my whisky readership is really mostly interested in single malt whisky). Please accept as penance this very timely review of a recent release, one that should be widely available all over the United States: the 2023 release of Laphroaig’s annual Cairdeas, bottled for Feis Ile, the Islay whisky festival. The Cairdeas releases have come to the US every year since 2011 (the series itself is only a few years older than that). The price has slowly edged up (it’s now in the mid $80s in Minnesota, before tax) and this year—for the first time—it’s a 700 ml bottle even in the US. Which means it’s a bit more expensive still per pour. Continue reading
Rey Campero, Pechuga de Codorniz
Let’s close out this week of reviews of mezcals from Rey Campero (see here for Monday’s Jabali and here for Wednesday’s Mexicano+Madrecuishe; and here for last Friday’s Tobala) with a somewhat unusual pechuga. Pechuga, as you may know, is a category of mezcal in the traditional production of which a chicken or turkey breast is hung over the still during the final distillation of the spirit, and which also deploys fruits, vegetables and nuts in the distillation process. That’s the traditional version. In recent years, however, many twists on the savoury component used have emerged. None of the three pechugas I’ve previously reviewed have involved chicken or turkey breasts. I’ve reviewed a Del Maguey that used Iberico ham, a Quiquiriqui that used cacao beans, and a Cinco Sentidos that used mole poblano! This Rey Campero pechuga is relatively staid by comparison as it involves a bird, even if it is quail. Also used in the distillation were grilled pineapple, grilled banana and grilled corn cobs. The unusual part is that it is only double-distilled whereas most pechugas are triple-distilled. It was produced in February 2022 and rested in glass for three months. Oh yes, the maguey used was Espadin, which is apparently the norm with pechuga. Okay, let’s see what it’s like. Continue reading
Rey Campero, Mexicano + Madrecuishe
Here is my second Rey Campero review of the week and the third overall (see here for last Friday’s review of the Tobala, and here for Monday’s review of the Jabali). This mezcal is made from a 50-50 mix of two different kinds of maguey: the Mexicano and the Madrecuishe. Madrecuishe is not the same as the cuishe maguey, in case you’re wondering (as I was before I looked it up). This was distilled in February 2020 and rested in glass for 18 months. That’s quite a bit longer than the five months the Jabali spent in glass (the Tobala’s label did not include that information). I’m not sure how common it is for joven (or mezcal not aged in oak) to be rested in glass for extended periods or where 18 months of resting in glass falls on the range of times common in the industry. If you know more about this, please write in below (or point me to good sources of information on mezcal production processes). In the meantime, here are my notes. Continue reading
Rey Campero, Jabali
The seven or eight people who read my mezcal reviews last week will be thrilled to know that I’m doing another full week of mezcal. Last week I reviewed two releases from Mal Bien (the Alto and the Verde) and one from Rey Campero (the Tobala). This week will be all Rey Campero. First up, the Jabali. Yes, Jabali is the name of the maguey varietal used to make this mezcal. As per Mezcal Reviews, this variety is apparently seldom used in mezcal making as it is apt to foam during fermentation and distillation. As someone who has been known to foam at the mouth himself from time to time, I’m going to take that as a good sign. Let’s see what it’s like.
Oh yes, this is from lot DS029-J. It was distilled in August 2021 and rested for five months in glass vats. I could even tell you what type of yeast was used for fermentation, what the source of the water used was, the type of mill used etc. etc. This is not because I know so much but because artisanal mezcal producers seem to put all this information on their bottles. Viva transparency! Continue reading
Rey Campero, Tobala
The first two reviews of this week of mezcal were both of releases from Mal Bien (the Alto and the Verde). Mal Bien is an American company that works with small producers in Mexico. Today’s review is also of a mezcal from a company that works with small producers in Mexico but this time it’s a Mexican company: Rey Campero. They are based in a small village in Oaxaca and are a family-owned company led by a mezcalero, Romulo Sanchez Parada. So if you like the idea of the bulk of the profit from the sale of mezcal going to producers based in Mexico—and I have to admit I do— Rey Campero is the brand for you. They make mezcal from a range of maguey varieties and in a number of styles. I’ll review a few more of their releases next month but first up, I have for you a review of a Tobala (the name of the variety of maguey it is distilled from). This variety is apparently grown at high altitudes, which gives it a distinct character. As I’ve said before, I’m not knowledgeable enough about mezcal to confidently tease apart the characteristics of different varietals of maguey but I am willing to slowly learn. I do know I really liked the Del Maguey Tobala I’ve previously reviewed. Let’s see what I make of this one. Continue reading