Review: Diageo Special Releases 2025

Diageo Special Releases, the annual collection, first introduced in 2001, quickly grew in popularity with its rare, collectible bottles of Brora and Port Ellen often selling out on the day of release. The collection typically included whiskies with age statements of 25–52 years, giving whisky lovers the opportunity to taste single malts and grains from closed distilleries, including Rosebank (now reopened), Convalmore, Glenury Royal, Linlithgow (St. Magdalene), Brechin (North Port), Pittyvaich, Port Dundas, Caledonian, and Cambus. As collecting, investing, and flipping whisky grew in popularity, prices for the Diageo Special Releases climbed. But those stocks couldn’t last forever, and Diageo took the series in a different direction in 2021with fewer precious releases, steering those into the Diageo Prima & Ultima annual collections, which ran between 2020–2023.

The transformed Diageo Special Releases of the early 2020s encapsulated mythical creatures and storytelling elements, presented in vivid packaging—coupled with a substantial drop in age statements to well below 20 years. There were always a few standouts, but you had to pick carefully.

The Diageo Special Releases 2025, named Horizons Unbound, offers eight cask strength whiskies selected by master blender Dr. Stuart Morrison. The sherry cask Dailuaine is a gem, while the Lagavulin 12 year old is up there with the best of them. The experimental nature of this collection finds the use of casks toasted with volcanic rocks (Talisker), distilling rye (Teaninich), use of mezcal casks (Glen Ord), and enhancing tropical fruit notes (Clynelish) by altering the cut points in the spirit safe. Here are our reviews.

95 points - Dailuaine Marbled Treasures 21 year old, 54.8%, $500 Speyside single malt

Fully matured in Spanish sherry casks, this Dailuaine is the standout. Exquisite aromas of vine fruit, marmalade peel, black cherry jam, walnut shells, espresso, new leather, red vines, and dark chocolate mingle with blueberry and charred oak. Luxuriously rich, with raspberry jam, moist gingerbread, dark marmalade, Fig Newton, sultana, plum and walnut jam, with a long finish of ginger spices. Water reveals even greater depth.

94 points - Lagavulin Grain & Embers 12 year old, 56.4%, $180 Islay single malt

Made with a mix of refill casks and sherry-seasoned European oak butts. The nose shows lemon curd, aromatic peat, antiseptics, fishing nets, and vanilla ice cream at the seaside. A taste of sweet melon, chocolate, peat, and cocoa with a velvety texture, peppery heat, a spicy note of nduja, and maritime smoke. The finish is drying, smoky, and salty. A pleasant oiliness develops with water, with passion fruit, and more pungent peppery peat smoke.

93 points - Talisker Molten Seas 14 year old, 53.9%, $185 Islands single malt

Finished in American oak casks toasted by volcanic rocks from Skye, the nose swirls with pepper, peat smoke, creamy vanilla, cacao, briny oyster shell, and windblown driftwood. Sweet, salty, and luxuriously creamy on the palate, with a wave of black pepper, clove, and a hint of root vegetables, before milk chocolate and butterscotch glide into a long, creamy finish. Water amplifies the peat notes and pepperiness, and adds red apple flavors.

93 points - Teaninich Daring Rye 8 year old, 59.3%, $100 Single grain

Equipped with a mash filter, Teaninich made this fantastic single grain from rye in 2016. The nose opens with sourdough crust, toasted rye, dried herbs, green olive, and a tang of pickle juice over grilled mushroom and woody notes. The palate begins sweetly with vanilla and orange fondant, then a surge of herbal notes, backed by pickles, olives, banana skin, toasted granola, and a vegetal finish of green bell peppers.

92 points - Oban Heart of the Harbour 14 year old, 55.3%, $150 Highland single malt

The most approachable dram in the 2025 Special Releases, this cask strength whisky channels Oban’s maritime soul. Matured in bourbon casks, there’s sea salt, honey, linseed, vanilla, apple blossom, lime, and sanded oak on the nose. Sweet honey and salted orange peel keep the flavor profile in classic Oban territory. Deliciously creamy, with peach, dried apricot, and peppery spice, with vanilla wafer and fading spices on the finish.

92 points - The Singleton of Glen Ord Into The Blue 17 year old, 56.2%, $200 Speyside single malt

A fusion of mezcal and sherry influences, this Glen Ord brims with intrigue. The nose reveals papaya, cantaloupe, pear, smoked agave, toasted cedar, and jalapeño. Baked orange on first sip, then a surge of raw ginger heat, saline minerality, and pickle juice, before returning to gingernuts, marmalade, and nutmeg. The finish tingles with ginger spice—invigorating, balanced, and precisely the type of innovation Special Releases needs.

91 points - Clynelish Waxen Sun 18 year old, 51.3%, $250 Highland single malt

A radiant study in tropical fruit, this unconventional Clynelish captures an experimental “pineapple cut” early in distillation, and protects those flavors through refill cask maturation. Cantaloupe, lychee, ripe pears in sweetened syrup, and the nostalgic aromas of Edinburgh rock and royal icing. With a subtle waxy texture, it’s medium-bodied with mango sorbet, pineapple, papaya, and citrus-bright taffy candy, followed by a spiced tropical fruit finish. Come sip the sunshine.

91 points - Roseisle Harmonic Grace 14 year old, 54%, $175 Speyside single malt

Matured in refill and rejuvenated casks, this captivating malt opens with peach, lime jelly, kiwi, Midori, and cinnamon caramel sauce over sponge fingers. The palate delivers madeleines, creamy vanilla, pepper, and a surge of juicy citrus that crests to caramel, candied orange, toasted oak, and chopped hazelnut. The finish is long, nutty, and spiced with hazelnut, toffee, and oak. Water reveals greater layers: this could be the best Roseisle yet.