Diageo Special Releases 2019
Once again the time of year has come where Diageo launch their Special Releases.
Let’s have a look at them with my thoughts on the range…
Review: Diageo Special Releases 2019
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Category Archives: Review
Review: Glengoyne Teapot Dram Batch 6
Glengoyne Teapot Dram Batch 6 – 59.3% abv
Info: “Strictly limited [until the next batch!] release of just four first fill sherry butts and two first fill sherry hogsheads.”
Colour: Medium dark rusty autumnal sunset.
Nose: Plenty of sherried autumn fruit notes, but still a nice sprightly element to this. Sherry outside in a cool autumn shower. Hints of nuts amongst soft creamy vanilla toffee. Notes of heathery honey. Strong, but not closed, full of flavours wanting to escape with nice rounded wood tones.
Palate: Strong, almost hot, but just backing off enough to remain easily enjoyable while letting flavours flow. It’s really oily, flavour packed; there’s plenty of lush autumn fruits, malty oils and hints of dark chocolate.
Finish: Fresh, fruity, warming and long. Hints of youngish cask wood at the back adding some weight to the dram (in a good way).
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Review: Big Peat Christmas 2018
Big Peat Christmas 2018 – 53.9% abv
A Christmas tradition here at Somerset Whisky Blog HQ (and I suspect for many others as well), is a love for the Big Peat Christmas edition. This year’s edition is out, and there’s still time to grab a bottle before the big day!
Here’s my thoughts…
Review: Steel Bonnets
Steel Bonnets: Blended Malt Whisky
Info: From The Lakes Distillery comes the first ever blend, so the press release says, of English and Scottish malt whiskies, Steel Bonnets. The blend is a combination of The Lakes Single Malt from England and some of the most respected malts from north of the Border. Awarded a gold medal in Spirits Business’ Luxury Masters Awards. 46.6% abv, non chillfiltered, non coloured.
Colour: Golden with a hint of autumn rust.
Nose: An interesting nose that is vibrant and flavourful. There’s some instant sweetness to the nose, possibly showing distillery character from younger (Lakes?) spirit. There is a dollop of sweetened cream with green and red fruits on the nose with smokey hints as a backdrop.
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Review: Deanston Decennary 50th Anniversary
Deanston Decennary 50th Anniversary – 46.3% abv
Info: Deanston Decennary 50th Anniversary is a marriage of four different casks; Whisky refil from 1977, American Oak from 1982, Port Pipe from 1996 and Pedro Ximenez from 2006. 1400 bottles available exclusively at the distillery. Natural colour, un-chillfiltered.
Colour: Summer gold with a hint of autumn rust.
Nose: The nose here is really autumnal. There’s hints of sharp, cold, clean rain on malt. There’s a bowl full of simmered down autumn fruits with a spoon of thick cream dolloped on top. There’s a nuttyness that’s coming from the casks. You can tell there’s some well aged malt here, but it’s well integrated and keeps a nice natural balance of the malts.
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Quick Review: Syndicate 58/6 12 Year Old
Syndicate 58/6 12 year old
Info: Contains 18 single malts and 4 single grains, finished for a year in Oloroso sherry butts. From Douglas Laing, a blend by Richard Patterson.
Colour: End of summer golden.
Nose: Spirited hints of pear, malt and rainy ozone. All backed by gentle sweet berry notes.
Palate: Very gentle sweet berry notes at the fore, it’s not overly oily, but it coats the tongue pleasingly. A hint of lemon.
Finish: Flavourful, with hints of wood and a slight touch of tannin at the end. Not overly long.
Thoughts: It’s a tasty blend at a great price.
Available: Master of Malt – £30 inc free postage.
Multi Review: The Ultimate American Whiskey Tweet Tasting
The Ultimate American Whiskey Tweet Tasting
To help celebrate the 4th July, a well-known date in America – so I’ve been told, the good eggs at Maverick Drinks and The Whisky Wire sent me a curated selection pack of their best American whiskies for a bunch of us drunkards selection of bloggers to all taste at the same time on that-there-Twitter.
So without further ado, here’s my thoughts on the aforementioned 5 drams…
Review: The Singleton of Dufftown Malt Master’s Selection
The Singleton of Dufftown Malt Master’s Selection – 40% abv
Info: The Singleton of Dufftown Malt Master’s Selection is matured in a combination of refill, Sherry and Bourbon casks, with a greater proportion of refill to allow ‘the sweet yet refined distillery character to shine through’. This has no age statement and is chillfiltered.
Colour: Yellow golden sun, hints of rust.
Nose: Malty and sweet. There’s handfuls of malt intertwined with some caramel, a little toffee, and the peel of red apples. In the background there’s spring meadow grassiness.
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Review: Speyburn 15 Year Old
Speyburn 15 Year Old – 46% ABV
Info: Matured in a combination of American and Spanish oak casks for 15 years. New at the end of 2017.
Colour: Light summer gold.
Nose: Quite sprightly and full bodied. Lashings of buttery malt with a great back note of mushed up autumn berry fruits, vanilla custard and maybe even a dollop of cream.
Palate: A nice strong oily introduction to your tongue, slightly peppery, with plenty of sweetness from the cream and the crushed berries. Just enough age to mark it as nicely middle aged with a hint of smoke from cask char.
Finish: The sweetness quickly heads towards slight peppery tannin on the finish which is quite long from the cask char hints.
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Review: Big Peat 25 Year Old Gold Edition
Big Peat 25 year old Gold Edition – 52.1% ABV
Info: It’s nearly time for Feis Ile 2018, so what better way to enjoy it than to have a dram of Big Peat’s Gold Edition, a 25yo vatted Islay malt. No chill filtration and no colour.
Colour: Ripe golden barley
Nose: Delicate and slightly floral, a heathery Islay moorland summer day. Beautifully restrained coal and sea breeze peat notes underline what is obviously a well aged gentle dram, and maybe hides the higher ABV? A hint of old oak and wax polish.
Palate: Slightly peppery at first followed quickly be waves of sweet peat laden oils. Exciting to hold on your tongue for ages investigating the silky oils and sweet peat notes.
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