Felipe Schrieberg Felipe is an award-winning London-based whisky writer, tastings host, drinks competitions judge, and author. He is also a musician and co-founder of The Rhythm and Booze Project, a duo that fuses live music and whisky through gigs, tasting events and multimedia. Follow Felipe on Twitter, Linkedin or his website.

Raise a glass. Today is the very first International Scotch Day. Sláinte! That means ‘health’ in both Irish and Scottish gaelic (yes, there’s a difference).

International Scotch Day is an initiative from drinks titan Diageo, which owns the most Scotch whisky distilleries in the world as well as the Johnnie Walker brand of blended whiskies (and Guinness beer, and Smirnoff vodka, Captain Morgan rum, and plenty more. But anyways…). In fact, February 10^th marks the birthday of Alexander Walker, the creator of the famous blend.

With activities taking place in both Scotland and around the world, Diageo is also opening up its famous archive of whisky artifacts, some dating back more than 200 years, in Menstrie, Scotland. Distillery visitor centers will offer free tours. Diageo’s 30,000 staff have also been mobilized and encouraged to spread the good word about Scotch whisky and to share generously with friends.

The whole program is aimed at bringing in new Scotch drinkers, appealing to that ever-valuable millennials market, and to ‘re-recruit’ anyone who may have recently fallen out of love with whisky but may be open to getting back into it again.

So in the spirit (pun intended) of International Scotch Day, here are five Diageo whiskies worth having a sniff and a dram. As always when I write whisky lists, prices come from The Whisky Exchange, though these will vary by country and shop.

It's maybe fine for a cocktail, but coke? Seriously? Harumph... Photo: Diageo 

1. Haig Clubman £22.95 ($28.60)

No! Don’t click away! Come back! Yes, cheap grain whiskies can be worthwhile. And after the disappointment that was the original Haig Club (launched to great fanfare with David Beckham), the Clubman is a worthwhile missionary for the Scotch whisky cause.

You can drink it neat, or it works as a great cocktail ingredient (meaning that you save your nicer whiskies). This one was launched with a specific goal of reaching out to those pesky millennial kids, with David Beckham reprising his role as the face of the Haig. As a pesky millennial myself, I’m pretty happy with it. It’s got cream; it’s got vanilla; it’s clean and enjoyable. It won’t knock your socks off, but it’s definitely enjoyable.

Each whisky from the Flora and Fauna series has a specific plant or animal Photo: Specialist Whisky

2. Linkwood 12 - £46.95 ($58.50)

Linkwood is usually found in specialist shops as a limited edition release from one or another independent bottler. However, the standard 12-year-old that Diageo has released is very nice indeed. The design of the label specifically refers to Diageo’s Flora and Fauna series from the early '90s (when it was still called United Distillers), the original bottles of this bunch are greatly prized by collectors. Today’s Linkwood is a wonderfully well-rounded whisky. Apples, pears, cloves, cinnamon, complemented by a citrus tang. It’s hard not to like this one.

Port in whisky maturation is getting trendier. Photo: Diageo

3. Cragganmore Distillers Edition £57.45 ($71.60)

A terrific whisky. Rich and deep. The reason for this comes from whisky that has been finished (passed from one cask to a second) in port casks, which always adds dry, fruity, and cake-like flavors. Cragganmore is one of the distilleries Diageo gives a lot of publicity, and it deserves it. I’ve never tried one I haven’t liked. 

Nick Offerman, enjoying Lagavulin 16 in a viral video where he sits silently for 45 minutes drinking. Image: Youtube

4. Lagavulin 16  £52.95 ($65.95)

Many Scotch whisky distilleries have a ‘flagship’ whisky, a whisky that's sold en masse as a continuous release that defines the character and flavor of the distillery. Anything else released serves as a comparison point to the ‘base’ whisky. Examples include Springbank 10, Laphroaig 10, Kilchoman Machir Bay, Aberlour 10, and plenty more. To me, Lagavulin 16 is the best flagship whisky you can find. There’s a reason Nick Offerman’s Ron Swanson character goes nuts for it in the TV show Parks and Recreation (and Nick Offerman has now become the famous face of Lagavulin). Smoked meat and salted caramel invade the nose and palate. It’s a wonderful thug of a whisky.

A grassy and smoky dram

5. Caol Ila 18 £82.45 ($102.70)

Like Lagavulin, Caol Ila hails from the Hebridean island of Islay, one of Scotland’s whisky capitals. Many of my favorite distilleries are based there, and it's one of my favorite places in the world so I recognize my bias.

However, there's no denying Caol Ila is a great smoky whisky. Where Lagavulin bullies you with smoke, Caol Ila is more likely to sneakily pick your pocket while having a nice chat with you. The smoke is gentle and complementary rather than overwhelming. Caol Ila 18, in particular, is one of the most herbal and grassy whiskies I’ve ever tried. Vegetal sweetness like peppers, or sweet potatoes, combined with a saltiness that Caol Ila specializes in. Hay, grass, and beef jerky meat and smoke are all involved. It's classy stuff.

All of these are fine choices to celebrate with. Diageo’s head of outreach, Nick Morgan, has said that they plan on making this an annual global event. I’m more than happy to join the party.   

By Felipe Schrieberg

Felipe is a London-based whisky writer, musician, tastings host, drinks competitions judge, and author. He writes for internationally renowned publications such as Forbes, Whisky Magazine and The Whiskey Wash. He has been awarded the Icons of Whisky Communicator of the Year award at Whisky Magazine's 2022 World Whiskies Awards.

He is the co-founder of The Rhythm and Booze Project, a duo fusing live music and whisky through gigs, tasting events, and multimedia. His past projects encompass performances at the Edinburgh Fringe of the band's own show Two Guys, Three Drams which combined live blues with whisky tasting, and building the world's first bass drum made from an entire Scotch whisky cask with a barrel of Lagavulin.

He is also a judge for the World Whiskies Awards and The Independent Bottlers Challenge. Through his online tastings hosted at The Virtual Whisky Masterclass, he has welcomed over 3,000 guests across 250+ tasting events.

His first book, London Cocktails, is now available worldwide. Follow him on Twitter/Instagram @schriebergfr, or at www.felipeschrieberg.com