“Diageo Special Releases 2021” tasting at The Oak Barrel, Sydney, 22 June 2022. Whisky #3 Nose: Stewed fruit, walnut bread, warm ginger biscuits, apple strudel, some sort of seed oil (rapeseed?, sunflower?), lemon and orange peel, marzipan, cognac (but see the comments below). With the addition of water there are maple syrup and sultana notes but the nose loses complexity fast. Palate: Beautifully sweet, measured and rich arrival with peach and apricot segments in syrup. In the development sweet hay, caramel, toffee, and vanilla. With water there is some sugar coated ginger, sweet stout or porter and curry spices, but like the nose water makes the palate “simple” very quickly. The texture is oily and chewy when neat but has a neutral mouthfeel with water. Finish: Medium. Nutty, sweet vanilla. There is a noticeable cognac presence in this whisky but it is difficult to pin down. You notice it on one nosing or taste but then it’s gone on the next. It’s also not exactly like the aroma or taste of cognac, but is strongly reminiscent. Initially, before I found out about the casking, I thought it was a white port or maybe moscatel finish. Heavy and winey, but not light and floral. When I found out it was cognac everything sort of slipped into place and made sense. A very good whisky when neat – approaching exquisite on the arrival – but absolutely not one for dilution. The alcohol is well contained and it all just “works” at cask strength. A few drops of water is all that is needed to start the collapse and a teaspoon to a dram makes it fragment with the entire profile turning dull and ordinary. This is a good whisky, but it can’t even dogpaddle, let alone swim. It was however the first whisky of the lineup I considered buying, and if nothing better had emerged later I probably would have picked up a bottle. However that did not happen 😉. A couple of people voted for this as their favourite whisky of the night, and I noticed today that the store is out of stock, so it is clearly popular. “Good” : 84/100 (3.75 stars)