True Scotch fanatics consider fall as a beautiful time to be alive—not due to leaf peeping and pumpkin choosing excursions, thoughts you. However as a result of it’s the time of 12 months that Diageo, one of many world’s largest spirits firms, unveils its much-anticipated annual Special Releases collection—an initiative that began in 2001.
This 12 months the theme is Legends Untold. And there can be eight bottlings—the identical quantity since 2019. (Years previous, like in 2017 and 2018, have included not less than 10 expressions.)
And as all the time, there are tried-and-true staples (such because the ever-reliable Lagavulin 12) and there are highlights. This 12 months’s large additions embrace a briny and daring Talisker 8, a fresh-tasting Royal Lochnagar 16 Yr Previous, and a Lagavulin 26 Yr Previous completed in first-fill Pedro Ximénex and Oloroso Sherry.
However past the liquid, Diageo tapped digital illustrator Ken Taylor to carry to life the “legendary tales” behind every of the distilleries featured within the assortment. The result’s extremely daring packaging, harking back to old fashioned sci-fi ebook covers replete with magical creatures.
And as an experiential element, a QR code is included in every of the bottles. Imbibers merely scan the codes to entry “multi-sensory experiences,” which can leap begin the narration of an expression’s legendary story. After that, there may even be a guided tasting expertise.
“Now we have delved into the core traits of a number of basic distilleries, exploring the weather and reimagining the liquids for the Legends Untold assortment,” mentioned grasp blender Dr. Craig Wilson, who personally picked every of the whiskies for the Particular Releases Assortment. “The legendary creatures of this 12 months’s assortment symbolize the true expressions of the distilleries. Taking inspiration from them, we’ve got revealed new depths of taste and embraced the essence of every of the whisky’s distinctive taste profiles revealing the legend it brings to life. This 12 months’s assortment is simply the very starting of the story.”
2021 Diageo Particular Releases: Legends Untold
Mortlach 13 Yr Previous
Diageo
Mortlach 13 Year Old
Particulars: ABV: 55.9% | Area: Speyside | Cask: Virgin and refill American oak casks | SRP: $124.99
Diageo Tasting Notes: A mellow and rounded nose-feel lulls the senses, then introduces a primary hovering word of freshly oiled wooden. Subsequent, rising via this, savory and meaty notes counsel the beast inside but additionally carry a candy tartness, suggesting roast pheasant with redcurrant jelly. The senses are heightened as these pitch good aromas in flip reveal a deeper moorland base-note, wealthy in heather pollen and freshly crushed herbs. A drop of water completes the anticipation, bringing out a candy, fruity trace of lime. Restricted portions obtainable.
The Singleton of Glendullan 19 Yr Previous
Diageo
Singleton of Glendullan 19 Year Old
Particulars: ABV: 54.6% | Area: Speyside | Cask: Refill American oak casks, completed in cognac casks | SRP: $174.99
Diageo Tasting Notes: Delicate in really feel, the nostril shines with high notes of dried fruits suggesting dried figs and apricots or crystalized angelica and orange peel, whereas beneath this there may be the dry scent of a light-weight fruitcake, iced with spirited notes of vanilla scented marzipan. Extra buttery notes emerge with a drop of water, which additionally brings up the spiciness. Restricted portions obtainable.
Talisker 8 Yr Previous
Diageo
Talisker 8 Year Old
Particulars: ABV: 59.7% | Area: Island/Isle of Skye | Cask: Closely peated refill casks | SRP: $114.99
Diageo Tasting Notes: The delicate nose-feel provides little trace of the livid spirit quickly to emerge. The highest notes are candy and maritime, an early cereal trace of porridge oats quickly giving strategy to extra cleaning and maritime aromas that counsel briny seaweed, crystal salt and iodine, on a base of mountain smoke. A drop of water softens issues, growing the maritime character. Restricted portions obtainable.
Lagavulin 26
Diageo
Lagavulin 26 Year Old
Particulars: ABV: 44.2% | Area: Islay | Cask: PX/Oloroso seasoned first fill casks | SRP: $2,399.99
Diageo Tasting Notes: On the mellow nostril a finely woven wine-woody aroma of nice complexity takes time to yield its particular person secrets and techniques. Mild, contemporary and vinous high notes mingle with the linseed oil of an artist’s studio then fade right into a heat suggestion of sun-bleached polished mahogany, backed by dry edible seaweed, with sweeter hints of baked fig and butterscotch. Additional in, the aromas develop extra pungent, oily and fragrantly smoky; like going fishing, with background aromas of tarry rope and boat engine. If somewhat water is added, their depth is diminished, whereas a word of fresh linen survives finest. No. bottles obtainable: 7,542
Lagavulin 12
Diageo
Lagavulin 12 Year Old
Particulars: ABV: 56.5% | Area: Islay | Cask: Refill American Oak casks | SRP: $149.99
Diageo Tasting Notes: Delicate, drying and shortly, splendidly fragrant; clear, contemporary and maritime, with high notes of sea air and Himalayan salt, supported by aromatic smoke-dried Lapsang Souchong tea, mineral salts and light-weight cleaning salve. Beneath these lie drier notes of cocoa powder and dried seaweed, with a squeeze of lemon zest, this salty sweetness imbued with wood-smoke from a distant bonfire on the shore. Restricted portions obtainable.
Cardhu 14 Yr Previous
Diageo
Cardhu 14 Year Old
Particulars: ABV: 55.5% | Area: Speyside | Casks: Refill American oak casks, completed in crimson wine casks | SRP: $149.99
Diageo Tasting Notes: The delicate nostril is contemporary and calmly fruity, as light aromas of white grape and lychee frolic with sharper hints of inexperienced apple, pear and a hint of orange zest, all enrobed by a touch of buttery pastry. Rising above these, a light-weight spicy word reveals extra of the wine-seasoned wooden. A drop of water introduces a light-weight word of meadow flowers, which turn out to be distinctly honeyed with time. Restricted portions obtainable.
Oban 12 Yr Previous
Diageo
Oban 12 Year Old
Particulars: ABV: 56.2% | Area: Coastal Highland | Cask: Freshly charred American Oak casks | SRP: $114.99
Diageo Tasting Notes: Mellow, with elusive but unmistakeably maritime high notes of crispy edible seaweed, crystal salt and coarse black pepper on a wood trencher, maybe accompanied by very calmly smoked fillets of white fish. After some time a spoonful of candy chilli sauce is added to the platter whereas with a drop of water, gentle olive oil turns into the highest word. Restricted portions obtainable.
Royal Lochnagar 16 Yr Previous
Diageo
Royal Lochnagar 16 Year Old
Particulars: ABV: 57.5% | Area: Highland | Cask: American Oak and European Oak refill casks | SRP: $249.99
Diageo Tasting Notes: The very mellow and rounded nostril swirls with refined aromas. The highest notes are calmly fruity, suggesting orange zest and inexperienced apple. They’re encased after some time, in a touch of puff-pastry, all resting on a mossy and calmly woody base. Including a splash of water provides to the fruit, now agency white grapes, and brings up the spiciness. Restricted portions obtainable.
