The growing Prima and Ultima collection gathers highly limited single vintage malts that are either the first or last bottling of their kind – each a piece of distilling history offering collectors and connoisseurs the opportunity to build an expertly curated liquid library over time. Taken from Scotland’s reserves of exceptionally aged Single Malt whisky, the ultra-rare spirits are drawn from casks that can never again be experienced by the world.
Each release is curated by one of Diageo’s most celebrated master blenders and for this year Maureen Robinson takes up the mantle from the curator of the inaugural Prima & Ultima, Dr Jim Beveridge OBE. With over 40 years at Diageo, Maureen Robinson hand-selected each whisky to make up the second release of Prima & Ultima. With a heightened knowledge of its Single Malt portfolio, Maureen curated this year’s edition to celebrate some of her most outstanding spirits that beckon a flavour and history rarely encountered.
Honouring the sunrise and sunset in whisky history of some of Scotland’s most prestigious distilleries, this year’s gathering represents a wide breadth of single vintage malts from Diageo. This year includes new appearances from ghost distillery Convalmore, a piece of history from Auchroisk, and a very rare Lagavulin.
Other additions include a Brora 1980, distilled during the golden age of peated Brora, taken from the very last of the distillery’s casks from that year. An extraordinary maturation from The Singleton also joins this year’s Prima & Ultima. Having been personally involved in its creation in her role as Master of Malts for The Singleton, Maureen has selected The Singleton of Glendullan 1992, part of a one-off trial that saw spirit first kept in refill wood, before double-maturing in two small ex-Madeira barriques for further fourteen years. This has imparted a sweet richness to the malt that complements the light and elegant distillery character.
Each full set of eight Prima & Ultima single vintage malts is accompanied by eight unique glasses, each engraved with a bespoke design that reflects the story behind each cask, created in collaboration with two glass artists. Individual 20ml samples of each whisky are also included with a booklet of personal stories told by Maureen.
Only 376 full sets of the Prima & Ultima Second Release are available for purchase, directly through the Diageo Rare and Exceptional Singapore Private Client Team, at a recommended retail selling price of SGD 39,500 in Singapore. An online registration page is now open at www.DiageoRareAndExceptional.com for whisky collectors in Singapore to register their interest.