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Diageo's 2014 Crop Of Limited Scottish Whisky Worth Taking Note Of

This time of year it is not only the American whiskey distilleries which begin to turn out the limited edition bourbon releases. It happens in places like Scotland as well, where spirits giant Diageo recently unveiled this year’s crop of its Special Releases Series of Scotch.

diageo-2014fall

For the 2014 line up, Diageo has 11 bottlings that range up to at least 38 years of age. Like previous years it looks to be a good bumper crop of older stocks from select Scotch makers, including a rare Port Ellen. More details of what’s coming to retail soon are detailed below for your consideration.

The 2014 selection includes the 14th appearance of Port Ellen in this range – one of the most sought after Single Malts in the world – from the revered, closed distillery.  Another that is sure to capture the attention of whisky connoisseurs globally is the Clynelish Select Reserve. Johnnie Walker’s Master Blender Dr Jim Beveridge, crafted this richly mature and complex Clynelish using individually selected casks from some of the distillery’s oldest reserves, all aged for at least fifteen years.

Caol Ila 30 Year Old from Islay is rich with mature peat smoke, displaying great character and surprising energy for a malt of its age; its younger sibling, Caol Ila 15 Year Old, is unpeated and has a fresh maritime character. 

From Speyside, a mellow 38 Year Old from the Singleton of Glendullan is the second expression in the series from the Singleton, which this year is only releasing 2800 bottles.

Old-fashioned whisky-making shines through in a number of the releases.  The elegant 21 Year Old Rosebank and robust Benrinnes both offer different takes on the pronounced impact of traditional worm-tub condensation, as does the deeply complex 25 Year Old release from Cragganmore with an aroma rich in deep fruit and sandalwood scents, and the savoury and sweetly smoky Brora 35 Year Old.

A rare bottling of Strathmill displays more expected Speyside characteristics is lively with floral and light fruit notes, while the whisky experts favourite, Lagavulin 12 Year Old, has a lighter spring to its step than other members of the Lagavulin family, without losing its famed herbaceous and peat smoked flavour.

Diaego said one should expect to find these releases from specialist retailers in Northern Europe, selected Asian markets and in the USA.

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