Diageo’s 2023 Special Releases Whisky Collection Has Arrived
Titled ‘Spirited Xchange’, the limited annual collection presents 8 rare and precious single malt Scotch whiskies.
Related articles
If you’re partial to a good drop of whisky, there’s no doubt you’re familiar with Diageo’s Special Releases collection. The limited edition, highly-anticipated annual collection shines a light on some of the year’s best rare and precious natural cask strength single malt Scotch whiskies, across a variety of ages and spirit characters.
For the 2023 ‘Spirited Xchange’ collection, Diageo unveils eight single malt whiskies from eight different distilleries around the world. Some you’ll definitely know, like Talisker, Mortlach and Lagavulin. Others are a little more obscure, like Oban and Roseisle.
Celebrating “a cultural exchange of flavours, craft, and artistry”, the 2023 Special Releases is guaranteed to appease even the toughest whisky critic thanks to a diverse offering of eight whiskies from different parts of the globe—including Scotland, Japan, China, and more. What results is a collection that captures the essence of cultural exchange through unique layers of flavour.
Take Lagavulin’s 12 Year Old, for example. While distilled, matured and bottled in Scotland, this special edition offers a unique taste of Mexico thanks to its finishing in Don Julio Anejo tequila casks, affording layers of bright, herbal smoke and dark plum fruit. Coinciding with its Mexican influence, renowned Mexican illustrator Raul Urias has brought the bottle to life thanks to his design talents with Mesoamerican aesthetics, all of which pay homage to Mexican art and culture.
So how do the eight whiskies come to form the Special Releases collection? That’s at the discretion of former Diageo Master Blender Stuart Morrison, who hand selects the rare and collectable whiskies.
“For the Special Releases ‘Spirited Xchange 2023’ Single Malt Scotch Whisky Collection, we pay homage to the exchange of ideas, discovery and inspiration of Scotch whisky and its makers as it reached new shores and the contemporary resonance it holds today,” says Morrison. “The finished collection is a testament to each distillery’s rich heritage.”
As with any collection—especially one so greatly dictated by the senses, such as taste and smell—there’s some highlights to mention. The aforementioned Lagavulin, a robust and smoky whisky that’s indeed delicious to enjoy neat; the Mortlach non-aged with a pinot noir and Kanosuke Japanese whisky finish is incredibly vibrant yet balanced, finished in casks hat “helps show a side of Mortlach never before encountered that is deeply fruity and richly rewarding.”
And the Roseisle 12 year old, a fine and smooth new malt that cleverly balances flavour profiles from central Speyside and the Scottish Highlands. It also marks the debut single malt for the 13-year old Roseisle distillery.
The eight attention-grabbing bottle designs are by no accident, either. You’ll come to find that each bottle has its own unique design, crafted by eight renowned illustrators all of whom were chosen to represent their craft and culture that inspired the liquid selection and cask finishing.
The complete Diageo 2023 Special Releases ‘Spirited Xchange’ Collection includes:
- Singleton 14 Year Old, The Silk Atelier (France) $170
- Talisker Non Age Declared, The Wild Explorador (Portugal) $170
- Lagavulin 12 Year Old, The Ink of Legends (Mexico) $220
- Mortlach Non Age Declared, The Katana’s Edge (Japan) $399
- Clynelish 10 Year Old, The Jazz Crescendo (USA) $240
- Glenkinchie 27 Year Old, The Floral Treasure (China) $599
- Oban 11 Year Old, The Soul of Calypso (Caribbean) $199
- Roseisle 12 Year Old, The Soaring Kite (North Sea/ Scandinavia) $170
—
The 2023 ‘Spirited Xchange’ Special Releases Single Malt Scotch Whisky Collection is available now in limited quantities from leading Australian retailers and independent bottle shops.
Subscribe to the Newsletter
Recommended for you
Premium Blends
Once the purview of military design, blended-wing-body aircraft may be the industry’s unconventional solution to carbon neutrality.
November 8, 2024
Gut Samaritans
Other top clinics around the globe are also offering microbiome-oriented remedies. Here are four to book.
By Mary Holland
November 8, 2024