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Third Release Of Diageo’s Prima & Ultima Rare, Vintage Single Malts Arrives

The third release of Prima & Ultima, the series of rare single malts from Diageo, is now open for registration.

Selected from some of the more well-known distilleries in Scotland, including Brora, Port Ellen and The Singleton, the Prima & Ultima series allows collectors and whisky aficionados a key to growing a collection of highly-limited vintage single malt whiskies.

A statement from Diageo explains that Prima & Ultima bottlings are drawn from casks that are the first or last of their kind. Each release of Prima & Ultima is curated by one of Diageo’s master blenders.

Diageo Prima & Ultima, Third Release
Diageo Prima & Ultima, Third Release (image via Diageo)

For 2022, Dr. Craig Wilson hand-selected eight unique and personal bottlings for the collection. His experience spans more than 13 years, but more recently he has played a fundamental role in the restoration of the Brora spirit and overseeing new releases from Port Ellen.

And as a celebration of his work, Wilson selected a rare bottling from both Brora and Port Ellen to feature in this release, a first for Prima & Ultima.

Also a first, the Prima & Ultima release offers what’s described as the opportunity to discover a single malt that’s both a first and a last, the first The Singleton of Glen Ord 1987 vintage. It’s the only one ever released from the last casks that remain.

This year’s offering also includes debut appearances to the Prima & Ultima collection from Royal Lochnagar, a 1981 bottling part of a pioneering experiment at the distillery and a uniquely matured, unusually dark Mannochmore 1990.

Master Blender Wilson takes the reins from the two previous curators, Maureen Robinson and Jim Beveridge, for the Prima & Ultima series. With Wilson’s selected bottlings in this third release, the whole Prima & Ultima Collection expands to 24 bottles.

Wilson said it was his honor to “personally select each whisky with great care, each an exceptional spirit marking a special time in the distilleries’ history and whiskies that I’ve had the privilege to watch mature.”

In the year of celebrating the Queen’s Platinum jubilee, Wilson said it’s extra special to have selected the last ever Port Ellen 1980 cask, filled in the year of Her Majesty’s visit to the distillery’s maltings. “The Brora bottling is equally as precious, taken from our last ever 1981 cask, making it one of our rarest Brora whiskies of all time.”

In total, only 317 full sets of the Prima & Ultima Third Release are available to buy, directly through appointed Prima & Ultima agents. The recommended retail price for the third release is £36,500.

The online registration page is open until June 30th at www.theprimaandultimacollection.com to register interest.

The Third Release of Prima & Ultima blender’s notes:

Royal Lochnagar 1981

  • 40-Year-Old | 52.5% ABV
  • Bottled: 06.12.21 | Refill casks, refill American Oak Hogsheads
  • Number Bottled: 1,047 | Balmoral, Royal Deeside
  • A tiny batch of Royal Lochnagar, part of a pioneering experiment to gain the angels’ share, the whisky lost from the cask by evaporation. When the experiment ended, a small amount of liquid was transferred into the present casks, to slumber peacefully until its fifth decade. This is a graceful, mature whisky of great freshness and vitality with aromas of honeysuckle, rose and bramble, leading to a smooth creamy mouthfeel.

Cragganmore 1973

  • 48-Year-Old | 44.8% ABV
  • Bottled: 06.12.21 | 3 refill American Oak Hogsheads
  • Number Bottled: 351 | Ballindalloch, Speyside
  • With complex aromas that include almond oil, this Cragganmore comes from the oldest casks we have, filled soon after the coal-heated stills turned to steam. This milestone in distilling gave birth to a new age in which craft and vision could walk hand in hand. A pathfinder for the smooth whiskies of the modern-day, the nose is more complex than usual with a palate that is sweet but pleasantly tart.

Mannochmore 1990

  • 31-Year-Old | 45.1% ABV
  • Bottled: 06.12.21 | Refill cask, untreated virgin European Oak
  • Number Bottled: 317 | Glenlossie, Speyside
  • A very special Mannochmore sourced from a single small experimental batch exposed to a highly unusual maturation. First housed in refill casks, then in unusual, highly active virgin European Oak for almost three decades has revealed a whole new character. The pale and youthful whisky has evolved into a dark and intriguing spirit, lean and smooth in texture. The powerful taste of striking dark orange marmalade is cut with drying wood spice before spiraling into endless layers of deep bitterness.

Brora 1981

  • 40-Year-Old | 44.1% ABV
  • Bottled: 09.12.21 | 1 refill American Oak Hogshead, 1 European Oak Sherry Butt
  • Number Bottled: 354 | Brora, Highlands
  • Much of the Brora we know today is heavily peated, the American Oak hogshead and European Oak Sherry butt selected here show us a different side of the Brora story. Filled at a time when less whisky was being made, it was often less peaty allowing new aromas and tastes to shine through. Fragrant notes of scented candle wax dance with smoke and moorland flowers, leading to a smooth waxy texture that is sweet and slightly smoky. The last release of 1981 Brora, this may well be the rarest publically available Brora of all.

The Singleton of Glen Ord 1987

  • 34 Years-Old | 49.4% ABV
  • Bottled: 10.12.21 | 5 refill American Oak Hogsheads
  • Number Bottled: 1,047 | Glen Ord, Highlands
  • A first, and last, this is the first 1987 The Singleton of Glen Ord vintage and the only one ever to be released, from the last casks that remain. Slow crafting and patience were key to this rare bottling, taking time to distill the liquid and see each cask reach its peak. The result is an elegant liquid with a fragrant nose and creamy-smooth texture. The sweetly satisfying taste holds deep fruity flavors with hints of ginger.

Lagavulin 1993

  • 28-Years-Old | 50.1% ABV
  • Bottled: 08.12.21 | 1 Pedro Ximenez/Oloroso seasoned butt, 1 refill American Oak Hogsheads
  • Number Bottled: 642 | Port Ellen, Isle of Islay
  • A prized Lagavulin, from the last two 1993 casks, filled in the year the distillery won the first of an avalanche of international awards. It was the start of a golden era, a success that owed much to an Islay legend, Manager Grant Carmichael. A Lagavulin at its mature peak with redcurrant fruitiness on the nose, soon overcome by the maritime scents of sea salt and sweet seaweed. Slightly oily, the smooth texture delivers a long mellow finish, a gloriously rich and rounded whisky.

Talisker 1984

  • 37-Years-Old | 51.9% ABV
  • Bottled: 07.12.21 | 3 refill American Oak Hogsheads, 1 ex-Sherry European Oak Butt
  • Number Bottled: 968 | Carbost, Isle of Skye
  • Taken from the very last 1984 casks from Talisker, set aside and guarded for decades for their promising potential. At the time few knew of Talisker’s tempestuous maritime character, but there was something special about these 1984 casks that made the distiller set them aside. The nose gives immediate light smoky notes, joined by fine sand and seaweed drying on a hot day. The slightly oily texture is sweet and rich to start, with thunder rolling in shortly after, leaving a mighty peppery kick. It is Skye in all its elemental glory.

Port Ellen 1980

  • 41-Year-Old | 59.6% ABV
  • Bottled: 07.12.21 | 1 refill American Oak Hogshead, 1 ex-Sherry European Oak Butt
  • Number Bottled: 555 | Port Ellen, Isle of Islay
  • This prized piece of history is the oldest Port Ellen ever to be released, filled in the year the Queen visited the Port Ellen maltings. It comes from the two very last casks of 1980 that spent all their days on Islay. This whisky of majestic quality is rich and smooth with notes of brine and dry seaweed on the nose. This very special Port Ellen is a perfect balance of sweet, salty, and smoky, with a long, slightly peaty finish.
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