The Twelve by Casks of Distinction Showcases Some Of The Rarest And Most Exclusive Drams And Drops Of Whiskies In The World

Some of the facts attached to this programme are astounding: almost 40 distilleries from which to select the casks (including half a dozen ghost distilleries and a couple of grain distilleries), at least 4,200 hours a year spent sourcing and tasting by master whisky makers, and assessing the contents to unanimously decide which ones make the cut as a Cask of Distinction. Take into consideration that this selection occurs among a combined total of 10 million casks from the vast reserves of Diageo, in which a mere 12 will emerge in the somewhat secretive presentation called The Twelve.

At Diageo’s recent global unveiling of its latest Casks of Distinction, held within the botanical paradise of Raffles Sentosa Singapore, the resort’s opulent 7,000 sq ft Royal Villa was transformed into a tasting room, where Ewan Gunn, Diageo’s senior global scotch whisky ambassador, was holding court. Also present was Tod Bradbury, private client director for Justerini & Brooks, a wine and spirits merchant established in 1749, and holding an unbroken line of Royal Warrants since King George III (1761). Through a series of mergers in the 1990s, the company is now part of Diageo, with offices in Edinburgh, London, and Hong Kong.

The choice of Singapore for the global unveiling of this particular Casks of Distinction edition is almost poetic, as it was also one of the earliest locations to host the programme back in 2018. “The Casks of Distinction is among the oldest and longest-standing single cask programmes in the Scotch whisky industry,” Bradbury said. “I’m incredibly proud to be part of it because I was here during its inception, and its evolution over the years has been fabulous. So, it’s a real celebration to be back in Singapore and to be hosting some of the individuals who were among the first adopters of the Casks of Distinction—a community of individuals who share the love and passion for great whisky.”

Through Diageo’s enviable breadth of whisky stocks from all four corners of Scotland, the flavours, complexities, and styles that comprise The Twelve are a boon to its clients, many of whom enjoy sharing and swapping their unique bottlings. Within a five-year period from purchase, these clients will be offered a visit to view their maturing casks stored in the Royal Deeside at Royal Lochnagar, which is less than a mile from Balmoral Castle. Discussions are then had on the personalisation of the labels and bottles, with artworks from local artists cementing the connection of the buyer to their liquid treasures.

Kicking off the tasting of The Twelve, Gunn took the select gathering through a quartet of expressions chosen to reflect the spectrum of offerings. The first was a 1985 Cragganmore, displaying the exact day in which the cask was filled (28 May), a cask number (601268), and the alcohol by volume percentage (44.4 per cent). “The Cragganmore is one of our smaller distilleries and was founded by a maverick called John Smith, who introduced flat top stills that tended to create a lighter style of whisky,” Gunn began. “But he coupled that with warmed-up condensers that make a heavier style of whisky, and this contradictory nature actually led to a really complex style of spirit.”

Gunn referenced the famous English writer Michael James Jackson, author of some of the most influential books on whisky, who said that Cragganmore possesses the most complex aroma of any single malt. On the nose, the Cragganmore had a gentle, nuanced nose, with some wood and cardamom, while the palate offers a bit of tropical sweetness (unripe bananas!) and also a savoury edge of cream and spice.

“The great thing about the Casks of Distinction programme has been shining a spotlight on some of the distilleries such as Cragganmore,” Bradbury said. “It’s a real revelation as a Highland distillery, built in the Victorian style with a beautiful train line at the back, and we’ve even had offers from people keen to purchase the entire distillery.”

Onto the Pittyvaich, filled in 1989 and at 52.6 per cent ABV. The brand exists in the present day as a ghost distillery, having only made whisky for 18 years from 1975, before the distillery itself was demolished in 2002. “The remaining stocks we have are dwindling and finite—a slice of history,” Gunn said. “We estimate this cask would yield about 200 bottles, each drop redolent with a delicate spray of lemon oils, tobacco, and, despite being 36 years old, a freshness that you can release with a few drops of water.” On the palate, the Pittyvaich brought forth toffee and salted caramel, as well as a delicate spice.

Moving into the more intense and smokier territory, Gunn then introduced the 1990 Caol Ila: one of Islay’s superstars and a whisky region known for big, smoky, and lush drams. “Blenders love working with Caol Ila because it gives a signature smokiness, which is also why it is quite rare to get a single malt at a high age,” Gunn said. “It’s got vibrancy, freshness, a beautifully dry, sooty smoke, and a lovely citric note, which, at 35 years, is harmonised to become spectacular.” On this specific expression, the smoke was introduced in what Gunn describes as “a distant bonfire on the beach, its dying embers, glazed barbecued ribs, and—this could be just my childhood memory more than anything else—cola cubes when the fizz is out”. Over the course of discovering these single malts, stories emerged of the unique malting used in Islay, where distillery standards and industry secrets push flavours into different territories.

As we arrived at the Talisker from 1979, Gunn remarked that, with a few more years in the cask, the liquid can be bottled as a 50-year-old, which is, in itself, an absolute rarity. The Talisker’s origins from the Isle of Skye, a stunning landscape shaped by glaciers and volcanoes, is recalled by the vibrant maritime-matured single malt. “You can smell and taste the landscape—it’s almost a visceral reaction,” Gunn said. “You are transported to the coastline, the island, and the distillery; that’s what makes it really powerful.”

A little later, at the grand reveal of The Twelve, adding to the quartet of what was tasted, the ones that made up the dozen are: Royal Lochnagar from 1988, an ’89 Dalwhinnie, ’91 Benrinnes, ’94 Glenlossie, ’84 The Cally single grain Scotch, ’90 Dailuaine, and, the prime lot of The Twelve, a Mortlach from 1984. The latter is the final remaining cask from Mortlach’s production that year, and the centrepiece of The Twelve.

With Gunn leading the tasting, the drams of Mortlach 1984 reflected an elemental voyage into the single malt’s signature ‘meatiness’: starting mellow and then enveloping the senses with a buttery, cereal note. On the tongue, the liquid builds into a crescendo of rich intensity, spice and herbal notes, then explodes with sweet, savoury, and leathery flavours.

Bradbury likened the search for spirits that fit the Casks of Distinction as the proverbial needle in a haystack, which requires the concerted effort of all its top master blenders and whisky gurus tasting and qualifying the future stars. “I love the programme because, quite often, customers will turn up with a preconceived idea as to what they like and what they want,” Bradbury said. “They will then leave with a favourite that’s completely different, and I think that’s part of the joy of it really.”

The Twelve by Casks of Distinction