Diageo Launches the 2024 Special Releases Collection
Diageo has announced the launch of Spirited Xchange 2.0, the 2024 Special Releases Single Malt Scotch Whisky Collection.
This year’s collection features whiskies from the Benrinnes, Caol Ila, Glen Ord, Lagavulin, Mortlach, Oban, Roseile, and Talisker distilleries – eight in total.
Benrinnes ‘Grand Crescendo’
The oldest expression in the 2024 Special Releases collection, this 21 year old single malt from the Benrinnes distillery was matured for eight years in refill casks, then double matured for thirteen years in wine-seasoned American Oak, European Oak, and rejuvenated casks with charred ends. Benrinnes ‘Grand Crescendo’ is bottled at 55.4% ABV and carries a suggested retail price of $480.
Official tasting notes:
Nose: Mild in feel at first. Then, rich and full, with fruity aromas in the foreground suggesting baked apple, pear, and peach. They are soon joined by a rich caramel note, calling to mind sweet Scottish toffee. All these aromas are mellow, rounded and appetizing. A dash of water introduces a suggestion of balsawood.
Palate: Firm and full-bodied, with a rich texture. Sweet and richly fruity from the off, the powerful, fresh taste soon becomes deliciously sweet-savory, with a lick of salt amid spicy intensity. A dash of water softens this without losing the spiciness.
Finish: Quite long, finishing smoothly dry and lightly spicy, and lightly mouth-cooling. Similar with water.
Caol Ila ‘Ambrosial Feast’
This unpeated 11 year old single malt from the Caol Ila distillery was matured in refill, rejuvenated, and rejuvenated ex-wine American and European Oak casks. Caol Ila ‘Ambrosial Feast’ is bottled at 57.3% ABV and carries a suggested retail price of $110.
Official tasting notes:
Nose: A mellow nose, light in feel. Unexpectedly mild, with unusual nutty-spicy top notes that together suggest an old fashioned dairy, with a creamy cheese being made, open milk pans, and just a trace of cleanliness; the last aroma is the only real hint that this might be Caol Ila, for there are no obvious carbolic or smoky notes. A little water sweetens the nose, bringing up a light hint of fruit. All in all, intriguing.
Palate: Smoothly creamy and mouth-filling in texture and overall, sweetly rich to taste, while at the same time notably fruity and nutty in style, developing a peppery warmth. Different in this way to other unpeated Caol Ila, which can be crisp and grassy. Lightly tannic and drying overall, with an oaky spiciness, this is a truly unusual and beautifully textured malt with layers of fruity, nutty flavor. It is enjoyable at its natural strength, while a dash of water brings out more of the creamy, rich smoothness and emphasizes the fruitiness.
Finish: Of a good length, again nutty, finishing dry and with a pinch of warming spice that carries on in the aftertaste. Similar, though shorter, with a drop of water.
Lagavulin ‘Fireside Tales’
This 12 year old single malt from the Lagavulin distillery was matured in ex-bourbon barrels and refill hogsheads of American Oak, and refill European Oak butts. Lagavulin ‘Fireside Tales’ is bottled at 57.4% ABV and carries a suggested retail price of $180.
Official tasting notes:
Nose: Drying in feel, and quite gentle. Fresh, clean phenols rise to the fore at once with aromas of a smoldering bonfire on a distant beach and wood ash, introduced by healingcream and carbolic soap. These are backed by subtle fruity notes, some sweet, suggesting rowan jelly, others hinting at unripe redcurrants. There is more ash in the development. This is smokier with a drop of water, but still not heavily “smoky”.
Palate: Smoothly creamy and really mouth-filling in texture, very sweet to taste at first then quickly drying, with a sprinkling of salt and a controlled smokiness, the intensity lip-tingling. A drop of water brings out the sweetness more but otherwise changes little.
Finish: Long, finally powerfully smoky and drying, with a twist of warming spice that also lingers in the aftertaste. A classic Lagavulin.
Mortlach ‘Midnight Dusk’
This NAS (No Age Statement) single malt from the Mortlach distillery was matured in refill and ex-bourbon American Oak, then finished in Ramandolo white wine and Sangiovese red wine casks. Mortlach ‘Midnight Dusk’ is bottled at 57.5% ABV and carries a suggested retail price of $300.
Official tasting notes:
Nose: Surprisingly mild and gentle in feel, with some prickle, yet dry overall and deeply exotic. The heady top notes make a vinous first impression, suggesting white grapes and Manzanilla sherry, before the aroma takes a stroll through the Tropical House of a botanic garden. It becomes lush, floral and fruity: lily-of-the-valley, lightly acidic white currants, mangosteen and lychees, with a background of lemon sherbet fruit sweets. A faint base note of vanilla fudge gradually emerges and develops with time. The impression is light and fresh. A drop of water lifts the citrus fruit notes, adding sweet caramel.
Palate: At natural strength, the texture is smooth and creamy, and the taste is lightly sweet and fruity. Then, it becomes sharper with a more focused acidity, leading to spicy, peppery, and drying tannins. A drop of water initially brings up that fruitiness without diminishing the spice.
Finish: Medium to long, finishing dry, tongue-tingling and warmly spicy with some fruity acidity and a pinch of white pepper. There is less acidity at reduced strength, while the spiciness is now slightly mouth-cooling, suggesting Sichuan pepper.
Oban ‘Coastal Orchard’
This 10 year old single malt from the Oban distillery was matured in refill American Oak and part finished in new fresh charred Oloroso-seasoned American Oak casks. Oban ‘Coastal Orchard’ is bottled at 58% ABV and carries a suggested retail price of $120.
Official tasting notes:
Nose: A mellow nose in feel, and quite vivid. The immediate impression is fresh and ‘maritime’ with hints of clean sea air, crystal salt and edible seaweed, but this is soon replaced by light oak and vanilla notes, then a hint of dried mixed herbs mingling with sherried, light fruity notes, together suggesting a summer walk through a Sicilian lemon grove by the sea. All this is supported by a very faint thread of smoke at the base, which becomes oilier if water is added.
Palate: An appealingly thick and creamy-smooth texture introduces a roundly fruity and sweet taste, with hints of orange and lemon, a touch of creamy vanilla, a pinch of sea-side salt and a whisper of gently peppery, oaky spice. A dash of water gently rounds these tastes without altering them.
Finish: Of medium length, ending in that smooth, warm spice. It is still spicy with a dash of water, which introduces more spice and dries the aftertaste.
Talisker ‘Tidal Churn’
This 8 year old single malt from the Talisker distillery was matured in refill and ex-bourbon American Oak, then finished in stone-spun and toasted American Oak casks. Talisker ‘Tidal Churn’ is bottled at 58.7% ABV and carries a suggested retail price of $105.
Official tasting notes:
Nose: A mellow nose in feel and dry overall. After a slow start, the first impression is fresh: faintly maritime, as with sea breezes, rockpools and oyster shells, on an earthy, mineral base with a hint of sphagnum moss. A little water develops the maritime notes and calms the spice.
Palate: Very smooth, mouth-filling and creamy in texture, with a powerful taste that is sweet at first and salty midpalate, a striking mineral effect like that found in wines grown on granitic soil, then abundant peppery spice. Lightly drying overall, with a fruit hint of apple and pear. Easier on the palate at reduced strength when the increased saltiness and minerality contrast beautifully with more controlled peppery spice.
Finish: Lengthy, developing plenty of Talisker spiciness, with a Sichuan-pepper mouth-cooling effect in the aftertaste that increases with a dash of water.
The Singleton ‘Autumn Walk’
This 14 year old single malt from the Glen Ord distillery was matured in three parallel paths, respectively in ex-bourbon, rejuvenated ex-wine, and refill casks, the latter all transferred after ten years for extended finishing in a mix of experimental casks with European Oak and unique Pyrenean Oak cask-ends. The Singleton ‘Autumn Walk’ is bottled at 54.7% ABV and carries a suggested retail price of $155.
Official tasting notes:
Nose: A mellow nose in feel; mild overall. The first aromas suggest an orange cream cake filling, becoming orange sponge cake with a hint of vanilla. Beneath this lie a faintly waxy suggestion of flaked almonds and a light ‘green’ note, suggesting sugar snap peas or mange tout. A drop of water increases the waxy note.
Palate: A creamy texture, which is quite tooth-coating. The taste starts sweet and center palate, becoming tart, with a strong hint of Seville orange peel, then drying gently as it shows its fierier side with some peppery spiciness. A drop of water sweetens the taste and reduces the tartness yet does not alter the overall profile.
Finish: Long, warming, and spicy, with a mouth-cooling aftertaste. Still spicy with a dash of water.
Roseisle ‘Origami Kite 2’
Only the second ever expression from the Roseisle distillery, this 12 year old single malt was matured in refill and ex-bourbon American Oak casks. Roseisle ‘Origami Kite 2’ is bottled at 55.6% ABV and carries a suggested retail price of $150.
Official tasting notes:
Nose: Mild in feel. The top notes are faintly vinous, supported by a slight tart fruitiness recalling unripe redcurrants, which gradually softens and sweetens to creamy vanilla fudge. A drop of water adds a fleeting dusty note. All of this is light and understated.
Palate: At natural strength, soft, ultra-creamy and rich in texture and sweet at first, with hints of vanilla icing and vanilla ice cream, balanced at once by a spirit-spicy complexity that carries a rich fruitiness. The sweetness lasts throughout, and this Roseisle has a richly welcoming taste, both straight and with a dash of water, which softens and appreciably sweetens it, bringing out more fruity notes without removing the spiciness.
Finish: Quite long, finishing richly sweet and lightly spicy with a controlled peppery warmth. It’s a little sweeter with water but otherwise similar.
The 2024 Special Releases collection is now available in limited quantities at select retailers and Malts.com.
Source: Diageo.