Raising two Diageos to Guinness - Clynelish 18 single cask for the Auld Alliance, and Talisker Distiller's Edition 2013

Under rather serendipitous circumstances, I bought Mansfield's The Search for God and Guinness on Kindle, and then, a couple of days later, got a ticket to attend a talk given by Os Guinness, the descendant of Arthur Guinness, creator of the Stout drank all around the world today.

Beyond learning more about the company, the Guinnesses, and how God was at work in the firm, I also found out, towards the end of the book, that Guinness would morph into Diageo, one of the biggest companies making and selling alcoholic beverages today.

Thus, to commemorate the finishing of this book, and to raise a glass to the vision that Arthur Guinness had for his beer and company, today's drinks will be from Diageo (which is, sadly, seen as a deviation from Guinness's initial vision).

Today's whisky comes from Clynelish, a distillery that was bought over by Diageo, and appears to be increasing its output ever since. It is one of the old classics of Scotch whiskies. Let's see how this newer expression is.

Clynelish 18 Year old, 1995 - 2013, bottled for The Auld Alliance single cask series 005 ( 51.2% abv, matured in refill hogshead)

Colour - white wine

Nose - Some maritime scents - sea salt and other minerals. Vanilla, some honey, and then, amazingly, green fruits. Feels like figs. This is quite nutty too. Almonds, I think. Then, there's some peat, pepper, and European oak (I think. Still learning to tell my wood apart). This is rather complex and well-balanced!

Palate - There's a peppery attack, and a little prickly due to the higher alcohol contnet. There's a bit of peat, vanilla, and oak. The peat is closer to an aromatic ash. Good quality tobacco, perhaps? More almonds here. They might have received a light roasting. There's some wine around the middle of the palate, as well as some leather. Apples and honey become more prominent after a few minutes of breathing, as does something citrusy. The combination of wine, apples and honey reminds me a little of canned pineapples. The texture of this dram is oily and viscous. Kinda like cream, or maybe good quality oil. The smooth texture clashed a little with the spiciness, or perhaps, it disoriented me a little, but not in a bad way, mind. More like a, I never expected this to work out.

Finish - Medium length, and goes down on peat. There's a touch of apple rind or grape seed, while the taste of ginger lingers around on the insides of the walls of the mouth.

Overall - I really like this. At $26 a glass, I think this is well-worth the money.

The second Diageo today is the Talisker Distiller's Edition, 2013 (45.8% abv, as is the Talisker custom nowadays). This is the standard Talisker 10, but given a little more time in Amoroso sherry casks.

Colour - gold, but close to amber. The sherry cask has left its mark on the visual presentation.

Nose - Fresh grapes giving way to salt and peat. Pepper comes out more slowly than the standard 18 or 10. After some time, orange peels become more prominent. It seems like there's something unpleasant right at the end, almost perfectly hidden behind the other scents...baby vomit? Some sulpher? Everything was good except that bit at the end.

Palate - Thinner than the Clynelish. The sherry is rich. Rich sherry overlays the powerful Talisker pepper without smothering it. The sherry actually helps to smoothen the pepper out, making it more muted than even the 18. Light peat, a bit of smoke. Oak, but the oak seems a bit bitter and drying. There isn't much bourbon influence detectable here, even though the Talisker 10 probably spent quality time with a bourbon cask. There's maybe a faint trace of coconut, but that's probably me imagining things. Placebo effect and things like that. This one is slightly rubbered. On the whole, it has a nice sherry attack that dries into the spice, peat and wood of a Talisker. The Amoroso complements the Talisker well

Finish - Less pepper than what I remember from the Talisker 10 and 18. Peat, smoke, rubber, pepper - all are present but less pronounced than in other Talisker expressions. The sulphur is popping up again, a blemish on an otherwise excellent whisky. Or maybe I'm just oversensitive, or under-appreciative.

Overall - This is priced between the Talisker 10 and the 18. The price is, I think, a good reflection of quality. Still, this would be higher in my reckoning if the sulphur notes were removed. Perhaps this batch wasn't as good as other batches.

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Guinness became Diageo, and Diageo continues to lead the world in alcoholic beverages. Here's hoping that the company recaptures its vision for social justice while bringing old distilleries like Clynelish back into business.