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6th July 2020 |
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Diageo
announces the forthcoming release of the
Prima & Ultima Whisky Collection, a new
premium series of vintage, cask strength
single malt whiskies.
Diageo has unveiled the Prima &
Ultima Whisky Collection, a new premium
series of single malt whiskies which
will launch with eight new vintage, cask
strength, single malts
from eight of Diageo's distilleries.
Each of the whiskies in the new
whisky collection have all been selected
by Diageo's veteran Master Blender Dr
Jim Beveridge OBE who has over 40 years
experience creating Scotch whisky. Each
whisky in the collection Jim has chosen
is the first (Prima) and last (Ultima)
of its kind and have been drawn from
just a small number casks from Diageo
owned distilleries in Scotland including
in this first release in the series Caol
Ila, Clynelish, Lagavulin, Mortlach,
Port Ellen, Singleton of Dufftown and
Talisker.
Jim Beveridge commented on the new
series saying: "Over the past forty
years I have worked intimately with our
distilleries across Scotland and I’ve
been fortunate enough to witness great
change in the whisky industry. Each of
the eight whiskies I’ve selected for
Prima & Ultima tells a tale of heritage
and craftsmanship and I’ve chosen them
from distillers of great personal
importance to me."
Each of the eight whiskies Jim has
selected have been bottled at natural
cask strength, non-chill filtered and
with no added colour, the whiskies are:
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Caol Ila 1984 35 Year Old
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Caol Ila 1984 35 Year Old | 50.8% ABV
Bottled: 9.12.19 | Cask #5773 – Refill
European Oak Butt Number Bottled: 499 |
Port Askaig, Isle Of Islay
A 1984 Caol Ila from a single refill
cask (#5773) - the first release of a
new style at the time, this particular
cask was recovered after initially being
sold. Mild in aroma, it is rich in
texture with a long smoky-spice finish.
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Clynelish 1993 26 Year Old
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Clynelish 1993 26 Year Old | 49.8% ABV
Bottled: 9.12.19 | Refill American Oak
Casks Number Bottled: 941 | Brora,
Sutherland
One of the first casks filled after the
mysterious waxiness of Clynelish was
understood and perfected. This 1993
small batch release is aromatic and
intense, with a waxy, creamy smooth
quality that is now the distillery’s
hallmark.
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Cragganmore 1971 48 Year Old
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Cragganmore 1971 48 Year Old | 43.7% ABV
Bottled: 10.12.19 | Cask #2301 -
First-fill ex-sherry butt Number
Bottled: 352 | Ballindalloch, Speyside
This is the very last cask of whisky
which was made at Cragganmore on coal
fired stills – cask #2301 – before the
switch to oil-fired steam heating. A
remarkable piece of history from a
single first fill ex-
Sherry butt, the whisky’s flavours run
deep with hints of dark chocolate, it
has a long fresh and drying finish.
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Lagavulin 1991 28 Year Old
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Lagavulin 1991 28 Year Old | 50.1% ABV
Bottled: 10.12.19 | Refill American Oak
Casks Number Bottled: 1013 | Port Ellen,
Isle Of Islay
Distilled not long after Lagavulin’s
true distillery character was refined
and perfected, this whisky comes from a
handful of refill American oak hogshead
casks filled in 1991. This 28 Year Old
is the first to highlight the pure
golden Lagavulin spirit, thanks to
carefully managed cask influence, and
has a terrific depth of flavour.
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Mortlach 1994 25 Year Old
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Mortlach 1994 25 Year Old | 55.1% ABV
Bottled: 10.12.19 | Cask #2652 -
First-fill Pedro Ximenez/Oloroso
seasoned European Oak Butt Number
Bottled: 389 | Dufftown, Speyside
One of the last remaining first-fill
Pedro Ximenez / Oloroso seasoned oak
butt casks from 1994. The result is a
25 Year Old with robust muscularity –
the deep, rich style of mature Mortlach
that earned its name as ‘The Beast of
Dufftown’, by whisky expert Dave Broom
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Port Ellen 1979 40 Year Old
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Port Ellen 1979 40 Year Old | 51.2% ABV
Bottled: 11.12.19 | Cask #6422 – Refill
European Oak Butt Number Bottled: 436 |
Port Ellen, Isle Of Islay
One of the very last 1979 European Oak
butts from Port Ellen, selected from the
few casks remaining, long after the
Islay distillery closed in 1983. It
characterises Port Ellen at its peak -
expressing to the full the wonderful
balance between sweetness, saltiness and
smokiness that is elegant and full of
flavour after forty years.
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Singleton of Dufftown 1988 30 Year Old
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Singleton of Dufftown 1988 30 Year Old |
48.8% ABV Bottled: 12.12.19 | Refill
American Oak Casks Number Bottled: 469 |
Dufftown, Speyside
From three of the last remaining casks
filled in 1988, at a time when the new
grassy, fruity flavours were uncovered
from a new slow-craft technique at this
Singleton distillery. This complex, rich
whisky is the first 30 Year Old released
of this kind.
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Talisker 1988 31 Year Old
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Talisker 1988 31 Year Old | 51.4% ABV
Bottled: 12.12.19 | Refill American Oak
Casks Number Bottled: 721 | Carbost,
Isle Of Skye
A 31 Year Old Talisker from the last 6
casks that showed an unusual less peaty,
more rounded character, specially put
aside in 1988 to mature. A Talisker full
of vitality with sweet, smoky and
peppery flavours.
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Availability
There will be 238 of the full sets made
available for purchase, each one
contains a limited-edition book of
stories as well as 20ml samples of each
whisky.
As you can imagine you will need deep
pockets if you want to get hold of a set
of the Prima & Ultima Whisky Collection,
it will set you back £20,000. To buy
one, you can register your interest on a
dedicated site https://www.exceptionalwhisky.com/
which will open up on Wednesday, July
22nd.
The first set in the series will go up
for auction at Sothebys online on August
26th and will be available for bidding
until September 2. The bottles are each
signed by Jim Beveridge personally and
all proceeds from the sale will be
donated to Diageo’s charity partner
WaterAid.
You will find Diageo's current portfolio
of Scotch whiskies available from
specialist online whisky retailers such
as
The Whisky Exchange,
The Whisky Shop and
Master of Malt
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Where To Buy Whisky Online
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specialist Whisky shops who delivers to
you:
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