So here they are, ten new bottlings that make up the Diageo Special Releases 2018 . They will be launched in limited quantities this autumn but like last year they are anticipating leaks by simply bringing the news early.

Nine out of ten special releases are now disclosed, one is kept back as a secret (last year this was Collectivum XVIII ).

Diageo Special Releases 2018

• Carsebridge 48 year old (43.2%, refill American oak, 1000 btl.)
• Caol Ila Unpeated 15 year old (59.1%, refill & rejuvenated hogsheads + ex-bodega European oak butts)
• Caol Ila 35 year old (58.1%,...

Here’s a relatively new Clynelish 1995 matured in a sherry cask and bottled by Signatory Vintage for The Whisky Exchange .

Clynelish 21 yo 1995 (54,7%, Signatory Vintage for The Whisky Exchange 2017, refill sherry butt #8676, 544 btl.)

Nose: gentle sherry, resulting in a nice mix of brown sugar, honey cake, tobacco and some old leathery notes. Subtle fruit jams (plums) and plenty of baked apples with cinnamon. Mint leaves. Some dusty, earthen floors. Mouth: dry and spicy at first, on red apples, tea and tobacco. Some chilli chocolate. Then a growing bitterness (Seville oranges) and leafy...

I’ve tried a handful of bottlings from The English Whisky Company but none of them really managed to impress. But let’s not be influenced by previous tastings, distilleries do evolve.

This 6 year-old expression was bottled from a rum cask by Claxton’s Spirits.

The English Whisky Company 6 yo 2011 (60,5%, Claxton’s 2018, rum cask #457, 258 btl.)

Nose: nice and sweet, with lots of confectionary notes, cotton candy and indeed a hint of white rum. Pineapple cubes and honey. A little mint as well. So far so good, really, except majbe for the potpourri note in the...

Batch 5 of the Blended Scotch Whisky release from That Boutique-y Whisky Company is 50 years of age , no less. It was part of their advent calendar, and the full bottles only arrived much later.

Blended Scotch Whisky #1 50 yo (46,6%, That Boutique-y Whisky Company 2017, Batch #5, 2000 btl.)

Nose: nice balance of old malt and old grains. First up is the coconut / leather combo of the grains, then sherried notes like chocolate and tobacco. Hints of marzipan and berries. Light tropical notes (pink grapefruit). Mouth: honey, plenty of blackcurrant, as well as rummy...

Batch 4 of the renowned Balvenie Tun 1509 . The first batch was released in 2014, replacing the distillery’s popular Tun 1401 expression – batch #5 should be out this summer.

This batch is a vatting of 13 first-fill American oak barrels and 10 sherry butts (the youngest being 21 years of age) that were left to marry in the exceptionally big marrying vessel Tun 1509 for several months.

Balvenie ‘Tun 1509’ (51,7%, OB 2017, batch 4, 8850 btl.)

Nose: malty notes up front, with bright orange peel as well as some white oak. Tobacco leaf and leather....

You won’t find the Glenfarclas 18 Year Old on the website: it is a tax-free expression (hence 1 litre bottle) that sites alongside the 17 Year Old which is part of the core range.

Glenfarclas 18 yo (43%, OB +/- 2017, 1 litre)

Nose: quite fresh and almost fragrant, a focus on American oak? Scented wax candles. Coconut flakes and overripe fruits, peaches mainly. Hints of cinnamon and sawdust. Marzipan. Heather honey. Mouth: oily, malty (muesli, bread) and spicy, with hints of fruit tea. Pears, oranges a little mango perhaps. Then on to dark chocolate, pepper, a little...

Glenfiddich Fire & Cane

The Glenfiddich Fire & Cane will be the fourth expression in the Experimental series , after IPA , Project XX and Winter Storm . It is a peated Glenfiddich (fire) finished in sweet rum casks (cane). Expect campfire smokiness coupled to toffee sweetness. Bottled at 43%.

Compass Box The Spaniard

We’re regularly seeing bespoke bottlings from Compass Box , for one of their importers or bars for instance. This one is called Compass Box The Spaniard after a place in the West Village of New York that offers fine food and over 100 references...

This is the latest batch of The Lost Distilleries Blend , a blended Scotch whisky created with malt and grain whiskies from closed distilleries.

This time the blend features Caperdonich, Rosebank, Imperial, Mosstowie, Glen Mhor, Glenisla, Glenlochy, Craigduff, Port Ellen and Brora, alongside grain from Port Dundas. Exactly the same list as Batch #9 in fact…

The Lost Distilleries Blend – Batch #10 (51%, TBWC 2017, 1041 btl.)

Nose: great old Highlands profile. Waxed papers, hints of sweet yellow apples and honey. Dusty wine cellars. Hints of marzipan, coconut cream and custard. Then back to mineral notes and...

Sometimes I don’t get whisky PR. These two Bunnahabhain bottlings had been ‘soft launched’ in augusti 2017 in the shadow of a Bunnahabhain restructuring. Later in november, it was announced as ‘new in stock’ by several stores. And in mars 2018 I get an e-mail from their PR agency that Bunnahabhain has two brand-new releases! Strange, because by now they are impossible to find…

Bunnahabhain 2003 PX Finish was matured in second-fill sherry casks and then given three more years in first-fill Pedro Ximénez butts. Similar story for the Bunnahabhain 2004 Moine Brandy Finish which was finished for three years...

Big Peat is an established brand by now. This Islay blended Maltwhisky is a reliable mix of Ardbeg, Caol Ila, Bowmore and Port Ellen, and often sees limited editions for Christmas , Feis Ile or other events .

The first version with an age statement (and vintage) is this Big Peat 25 Years – Gold Edition which contains Maltwhisky distilled in 1992. Two more vintage releases will follow as part of a small series.

Big Peat 25 yo 1992 ‘Gold Edition’ (52,1%, Douglas Laing 2017, 3000 btl.)

Nose: refined, with gentle, sweet charcoal smoke and maritime...