The Diageo Special Releases

My post is a bit late to the party, but I didn’t get around to it yesterday.

In the mysterious of Diageo the list of Special Releases was announced yesterday, but not through their PR company (Cognis PR) or their ‘dedicated’ Twitter account (@SpecialReleases). For some reason, blogs were the ones getting the news out this year.

The list of special releases, including their Recommended Retail Price in pounds is below.

DISTILLERY	AGE AT BOTTLING	YEAR DISTILLED	UK RRP	%	# OF BOTTLES
SINGLETON OF GLENDULLAN	38	1975	£750	59.8%	3,756
CAOL ILA UNPEATED	15	1998	£75	60.39%	10,668
CAOL ILA	30	1983	£425	55.1%	7,638
CLYNELISH	SELECT RESERVE	1999* (youngest whisky in vatting)	£500	54.9%	2,964
CRAGGANMORE	25	1988	£299	51.4%	3,372
LAGAVULIN	12	2002	£80	54.4%	31,428
PORT ELLEN	35	1978	£2,200	56.5%	2,964
ROSEBANK	21	1992	£300	55.3%	4,530
BENRINNES	21	1992	£240	56.9%	2,892
BRORA	35	1978	£1,200	48.6%	2,964
STRATHMILL	25	1988	£275	52.4%	2,700

(Table comes from Neil and Joel at Caskstrength Whisky Blog)

Of course, the discussion has been about Diageo’s pricing which automatically makes these whisky unreachable for all except the wealthiest of us, or those who saved up enough money over the last year for that one special bottle.

I have to say that compared to the last couple of years, I have the feeling the prices haven’t soared that much higher. And, whether the Port Ellen costs £ 1200 or £ 2200, the likeliness of me buying one is there in none of those two situations.

I am interested in the 12 year old Lagavulin, as I am every year and this year I just might have enough budget to get it when it gets there. Usually I forget about these releases, spend all my money and then have to start saving again when they popup, only to find they’ve all been sold by the next month.

Anyway, I let you form your own opinion on these bottles. I’m sure all of them sell eventually, with the Port Ellen and Brora being gone in minutes after release. It’s a strange world we live in.

They look gorgeous, though!

About Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

I'm very interested in booze, with a focus on whisky. I like to listen to loads of music and play lots of Magic: the Gathering, and board games too. I'm married to Anneke, have two daughters Ot and Cato, a son Moos and a cat called Kikker (which means Frog, in Dutch). I live in Krommenie, The Netherlands.

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1 Response to The Diageo Special Releases

Gert Claus (@tastydram) says:

16 September 2014 at 7:46 am

I wonder why they didn’t communicate themselves around it. The same goes for the new Mortlachs… I thought we already passed the “We have to be on Twitter, create an account and do nothing further” stage already for the big money companies… Obviously wrong!