Roseisle 12 (Diageo Special Release 2024)

Roseisle 12 (Diageo Special Release 2024)

Region: Speyside

ABV: 56.6%

Price: £135.00

As with last year’s release, there aren’t many details about this one, other than that it was matured in a mix of first-fill and refill bourbon casks.

Nose

The nose opens with a real fruit-forward character, we're finding fresh green apple, a little peach, some melon, kiwi fruit and even a touch of lychee liqueur in the background. Behind these fruity aromas sits a maltier, slightly dustier aroma, a touch of hazelnut, coconut and milk cooking chocolate. There's also a floral, honeysuckle aroma that is present. The alcohol is present but in good balance, and overall it's really quite pleasant to nose.

Palate

The palate opens with a lot of sugary sweetness, confectioners sugar, tablet, sour apple candies, peach rings, moving into a maltier latter palate with chocolate digestive biscuits, caramel logs, tunnocks tea cakes and waffle cones. It also has some lemon and lime squash appearing as we take a second sip. The mouthfeel is decent, not overly textured but there's enough here to keep us interested, but the finish falls off a tad too quick for our liking, but has flavours of flamed orange peel, warm butterscotch and a little milky coffee too. The alcohol isn't particularly overpowering, however it does leave a bit of peppery spice in the mouth.

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose has a lot more melon and kiwi up front, moving into pear skin as it opens up. There's also some freshly juiced apples and some lime zest appearing with time and air. The dusty, maltiness is still present, but water seems to have mellowed some of the expressiveness that the nose showed before.

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate continues with the upfront sweetness, but the citrus fruits appear first. The palate morphs into the same chocolate, malty, biscuitiness as it develops, but water seems to have helped the sweeter flavours carry through to the finish, and it's a little more pleasant now. We'd recommend a few drops of water to help round out the palate.

Conclusion

Having enjoyed the first release of Roseisle, we're pleased to say that we enjoy this one just as much. It's fruity, sweet, with a malty, chocolatey backbone. It's a good example of bourbon matured Speyside whisky, one that we think most would appreciate and enjoy. For us, this gets half a point higher than the first release, there seems to be a bit more going on.

Score: 7.5/10

Value

Unfortunately, like most Diageo releases, this is priced significantly higher than it should be, and this year’s release is £15 more expensive than last years.

• 10 - Perfection. One in a million
• 9 - Outstanding. Exceptional whisky.
• 8 - Great. Would seek this out.
• 7 - Good. Quality whisky.
• 6 - Above average. Happy to have a dram.
• 5 - Average. Drinkable whisky.
• 4 - Below average. Passable.
• 3 - Flawed. Noticeable negatives.
• 2 - Defective. Significant faults.
• 1 - Offensive. Pour it out.

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