Talisker 11 Lightly Peated Special Release 2022

I was keen on last year’s smokiest reserves release, but this year’s was just as intriguing, a step in the opposite direction. The hope is that the more lightly peated malt lets some other elements of the spirit come through or shine brighter than at their standard peat levels. Also, I like the jellyfish.

Talisker 11 Lightly Peated Special Release 2022, Island (Skye) Single Malt, 55.1% ABV

Minutia: Matured for 11 years in ex-bourbon and ex-wine casks and drawn from their least smoky stock. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Burnished; 1.1.

Nose: Appley malt. Subtle autumnal, woodsy notes. Mineraly and cured meat.

Taste: Smoke, spice, sweet.

Finish: Woody spices, chocolate.

This is very, very nice. This is up there. It doesn’t occupy the same tier as the 8 year old from 2018, but it’s one of my favorite Taliskers I’ve had, and another one I’m upset I only got 200ml of with a much smaller picture of a jellyfish than I’d have if I bought a full bottle. I really liked getting some of the malt coming through here that is presumably hidden by the peat in typical releases.

Score: 86

Musical Evocation: Gorillaz – “Feel Good Inc.”

 

Compass Box The Peat Monster Arcana

This is kind of a fun one as I like The Peat Monster enough, and the different take on it was appealing. Let’s see what it’s like.

Compass Box The Peat Monster Arcana, Scotland Blend, 46% ABV

Minutia: Comprised on 72.9% 14-year-old Talisker in refill hogsheads, 10.6% 11-year-old Miltonduff in 1st-fill ex-bourbon barrels, 9.6% 9-year-old The Peat Monster Cask Strength in a refill custom French oak barrel with heavy toast, and 6.9% 16-year-old Ardbeg in recharred barrels yielding 8,328 bottles.. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Jonquil, ripe corn; 0.4.

Nose: Woody and earthy. More maritime than smoky.

Taste: Spicy, creamy, fruit like berries.

Finish: Musty and fruity smoke. Some vanilla. Medium-short, leaning more medium.

This gets more enjoyable once it gets into the mouth. The nose isn’t bad, but that palate is better. It’s subtle and I actually like it for its lack of monstrousness.

Score: 82

Musical Evocation: Alice Cooper – “I Never Cry”

Talisker 8 Smokiest Reserves 2021 Special Release

I like Talisker and I really like peat, so I was pretty amped when this one was announced and I’m quite interested in trying what they consider some of their smokiest stock. Here we go.

Talisker 8 2021 Special Release, Island (Skye) Single Malt, 59.7% ABV

Minutia: Matured for 8 years and bottled in 2021 as a Special Release by Diageo, the label saying it is “from a selection of [their] smokiest reserves.” Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Pale straw; 0.2.

Nose: Smoke/ash, earthy, vegetal, slightly medicinal, seaweed.

Taste: Earthy, and a peppery wave shortly after swallowing. Creamy feel.

Finish: Salty, char, toffee (a bit burnt). Medium.

It’s not an Octomore or anything, but I quite enjoyed it. It’s got a nice smokiness to it and the peat comes through in a not-quite-dirty way, but more in the earthy/vegetal realm which I enjoy. Despite the reasons why I was eager to try this, I’m also looking forward to this year’s lighter release. Kind of like a reverse of the peated Cragganmore from a couple years ago.

Score: 85

Musical Evocation: Falls of Rauros – “Ancestors of Smoke”

Top 10 Whiskies of 2021

It's a bit late in the game, but I forgot to post it earlier this year. This post is about the Top 10 Whiskies I tried over the course of 2021. It is all about when I took the notes, not when the whiskies were released, and they are in no particular order.

1. Talisker 8 Special Release 2018
2. Ledaig 13 2005 Single Cask Nation
3. Bowmore 23 1989 Port Cask Matured
4. SMWS 129.1 Kilchoman
5. Caol Ila 18
6. Port Charlotte MC:01
7. Longrow 18 2020
8. Caol Ila 7 2009 Signatory Vintage
9. Laphroaig Cairdeas 2018 Fino
10. Springbank 21 2020

Talisker 8 Cask Strength Rum Finish 2020 Special Release

 

I was really intrigued by this when it was announced. The 8 year old from a couple years prior was stellar, and the rum finish was something I was interested in trying. Anyway, finally got around to reviewing it so here it is.

Talisker 8 Cask Strength Rum Finish 2020 Special Release, Island (Skye) Single Malt, 57.9% ABV

Minutia: Matured for 8 years with a finish in Caribbean rum casks. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Amber; 0.7.

Nose: Green smoke, briny. Salty toffee. Seaweed.

Taste: Salty, young wood, salted toffee.

Finish: Earthy, spice, salty.

It’s nice, but simple. Not in a bad way, but also not in the way that it does one thing incredibly well. It felt like it would be better with more age. Fans of Talisker’s profile will like it well enough, but it doesn’t come close to the 8 year old from 2018.

Score: 82

Musical Evocation: Jinjer – “Judgement (& Punishment)”

Advent 2021 #18 - Talisker Storm

As a fan of Talisker, this was one I wanted to try as I’m never upset to find more affordable alternatives to whiskies I enjoy.

Talisker Storm, Island (Skye) Single Malt, 45.8% ABV

Minutia: Reviewed blind, neat in an opaque glencairn.

Color: Amontillado Sherry; 0.9.

Nose: Smoke, seashells, green fruit. Grass.

Taste: Salty smoke, sweet like caramel.

Finish: Salt, smoke, wood. Medium-short.

Guess: Caol Ila, maybe Moch?

I don’t feel to bad about the guess, as Moch is Caol Ila’s NAS alternative while this is (one of) Talisker’s. It’s decent, but doesn’t encourage any seeking out. 

Score: 82

Here are links to the other posts from this calendar:

Advent 2021 #7 - Talisker 57° North

I was pretty keen on trying a higher proof OB form a distillery I like. I’d like to know the age, but I get why it isn’t there with trying to keep this consistent batch to batch. How is it?

Talisker 57° North, Island (Skye) Single Malt, 57% ABV

Minutia: Reviewed blind, neat in an opaque glencairn.

Color: Burnished; 1.1.

Nose: Smoke, malt, tobacco, leather, fruit.

Taste: Vegetal, spice, dried fruit, nut, winey.

Finish: Earthy, inky, tea. Medium.

Guess: Lagavulin or Ardbeg in Sherry. High proof.

Good, generally, but a bit lacking in terms of what I specifically want. It’s another rather peaty Talisker in this Advent calendar that didn’t feel like how I remember Talisker. Perhaps I’m too from removed from what the distillery offers. At any rate, The way these peatier feeling Taliskers have been, I’m getting more and more excited for the special release from this year.

Score: 80

Here are links to the other posts from this calendar:

Advent 2021 #1 - Talisker Port Ruighe

I’ve wanted to try this one for a while, so I’m glad it came up in this year’s calendar. I was a giant fan of a Port matured Bowmore, but that was 23 years old and spent its whole life in those casks. How does this hold up?

Talisker Port Ruighe, Island (Skye) Single Malt, 45.8% ABV

Minutia: Finished in Port casks after maturation in presumably ex-bourbon casks. Reviewed blind, neat in an opaque glencairn. 

Color: Russet, Muscat; 1.3.

Nose: Smoke, BBQ meat, shell/musty/maritime there, too.

Taste: Vegetal, earthy. Sweet malt.

Finish: Big BBQ smoke, wood, ash. Medium.

Guess: An Islay, ABV in the 50% range, about 11 years old, ex-bourbon casks. Feels like Caol Ila, Laphroaig, maybe an Ardbeg.

I’m kind of surprised it’s a Talisker, much bigger on the smoke than anything I’ve had from them. The BBQ elements were big and immediate, and that was really satisfying. Port casks satisfy again, and this has me really looking forward to the special release from this year the way I enjoyed a Talisker dram with big smoke notes. 

Score: 87

Here are links to the other posts from this calendar:

Talisker 15 Cask Strength Special Release 2019

Finally getting to this almost to the day when the release two years later gets released.

Tallisker 15 Cask Strength 2019 Special Release, Island (Skye) Single Malt, 57.3% ABV

Minutia: Matured for 15 years in freshly charred American oak hogsheads and bottled in 2019. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Burnished; 1.1.

Nose: Smoke under minerally fruit. Malt with a lemony twinge to it. 

Taste: Spice, black pepper into cayenne. Tames to wood.

Finish: Malty, drying, a bit of spice. Ash late. Long. Like, very long.

This is pretty good, it’s nice to try an older cask strength expression from one of the first distilleries I enjoyed. I’ll have to revisit this in the future as the review was conducted with covid. While I don’t notice any loss of smell or taste elsewhere and got most if not all notes I expected from this, that could have been affected.

Score: 87

Game of Thrones - Talisker Select Reserve House Greyjoy

I liked the show enough, and as a collector, I ended up wanting a bottle from the distilleries I enjoy from which an expression was made despite initially being disinterested. I was skeptical with most expressions being unique to the line (except one, I believe) and figured it might have been better to slap some imagery on a standard release than come up with a bunch of new, temporary expressions. I ended up trying the Cardhu one at a friend’s and was not exactly thrilled, particularly with the bland expression being represented by a dragon. I had to hold onto hope the distilleries I know make good stuff could release something serviceable.

Talisker Select Reserve Game of Thrones House Greyjoy, Island (Skye) Single Malt, 45.8% ABV

Minutia: Same lack of information, but less, somehow. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Tawny, 1.4.

Nose: Caramel/molasses, or honey. I don’t get much smoke or any brine as I’d expect, but it’s malty. Leather.

Taste: Fruity sweetness at the get go into spicy and woody. Bit of smoke there, too. 

Finish: Wood more with smoke. Tobacco. Leather. Lingering spice. That malt from the nose. Medium.

I ashamed to say my OCD caused me to pay second market prices for this before Diageo released a tsunami more of these bottles with indications at the time being a European release would follow and then that would be it. Live and learn. Worth nowhere near what I paid, but a good deal for the MSRP or any sales to unload old inventory. I’d put in in league with or just above the NAS releases from Talisker I’ve had (Skye and Storm, I think).

Score: 85

Musical Evocation: Seven Kingdoms – “After the Fall”

Talisker Distillers Edition

Talisker Distillers Edition, Island (Skye) Single Malt, 45.8% ABV

Minutia: Distilled in 2002, matured in ex-Bourbon casks and finished in Amoroso casks, and bottled in 2013. Batch number TD-S: 5PB. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn with the Caol Ila and Lagavulin Distillers Editions.

Color: Tawny, 1.4.

Nose: Fruity, slight smoke, salted caramel.

Taste: Dry but sweet, into wood, smoke, and spices.

Finish: Long. Briny smoke with dry spice. Bit like coffee but not that flavor.

Quite nice, a sweet version of the 10 with the edge taken down, not necessarily in a bad way. Worth the premium if it's not much more than the 10.

Score: 88

Talisker 10 & Distillers Edition Side by Side

I’ve already reviewed each of these independently, but have decided to revisit each of them to see how my perception may have changed, and to compare them in a side by side to see how much influence that finish had.

Talisker 10, Island (Skye) Single Malt, 45.8% ABV

Minutia: Enjoyed neat in a glencairn, side by side with the Distillers Edition.

Color: Chestnut Oloroso Sherry, 1.2.

Nose: Wood and smoke. Bit of honey cereal.

Taste: Honey, pepper/spice, malt. Some smoke, tannic.

Finish: Pepper, musty, dry, caramelized sugar. Medium.

I generally like things smokier than this, but there’s enough punch that it feels more substantial. However that smoke is not really the focus, here, and those who don’t love smoke may be able to appreciate this (particularly the older expressions which are more tame and have more fruit).

Score: 83

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Talisker Distillers Edition, Island (Skye) Single Malt, 45.8% ABV

Minutia: Distilled in 2002, matured in ex-bourbon casks and finished in Amoroso casks, and bottled in 2013. Batch number TD-S: 5PB. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn, side by side with the standard 10 year.

Color: Auburn, 1.5.

Nose: About the same, but the honey cereal has a nutty quality to it, and the nose is overall much sweeter. Maybe a bit of mustiness.

Taste: Really just a spicier version of the 10 with a bit of nutty flavor, and a tiny hint of fruit.

Finish: Sweet, fruitlike smoke. Dry. Medium.

Quite similar to the standard, the finish here seems to add a bit of nuttiness to the dram, a small bit of sweetness, and it gets a bit spicier than the 10, or at least the spice is more present.

Score: 89

Talisker 8 Special Release 2018

I started getting into whisky shortly before this was released, but I wasn’t into it enough to know that Diageo did an annual set of special releases, nor had I dipped my toe into ordering from overseas as that was the only way to get this in the US I believe. When I read about this, liking Talisker it was something I felt determined to try, particularly based on it being highly regarded. Eventually I did start ordering from Europe but this was nowhere to be found until I saw this available at an auction, so I started bidding and ended up winning it, and my bank account hasn’t forgiven me since.

Talisker 8 Special Release 2018, Island (Skye) Single Malt, 59.4% ABV

Minutia: Matured for 8 years in first fill bourbon casks, the label says they are deep charred.

Color: Russet muscat, 1.3.

Nose: Fresh, earthy smoke. Medicinal must. Leathery tobacco. Fruit struggles to break through.

Taste: Malty, honey, pepper, herbal.

Finish: Charred meat, black pepper, salt. A sweetness becomes known eventually, like a honey that tastes a bit like something else, or kind of like chocolate that isn’t Hershey’s. Medium, though most on the shorter side. A subtle linger extends to long. That sweetness is the most resilient part, but it gets less good as the other notes fade away and no longer compliment it.

A nice dram, and to me a pretty novel one as Talisker usually hits a bit more lightly. That sweetness left in the finish isn’t altogether unpleasant, but without the other notes still present it’s just a flavor that’s kind of there. I like this a lot, and while I didn’t record any notes with water here, I recall a nice chocolate coming out in the finish. It’s a good addition, and a bit is also lost, and I’d say it’s a net-zero gain with water. The secondary market prices are probably a bit too high for this, but the price at release of what converted to about $90 is not a steal but a fair price. I also have a bottle of the 15 year old from 2019 and the 8 year old rum finish from 2020 I’m even more keen on getting opened after having this one.

Score: 90

Musical Evocation: Alestorm – “Treasure Chest Party Quest”

Top 10 Whiskies of 2020

This post is about the Top 10 Whiskies I tried over the course of 2020. It is all about when I took the notes, not when the whiskies were released, and they are in no particular order.

1. Lagavulin 12
2. Laphroaig 28
3. Talisker 25
4. Talisker 30
5. Ardbeg Alligator
6. Longrow 18
7. Octomore 10.3
8. Octomore 10.4
9. Springbank 15
10. Springbank 24 Single Cask

2020 Advent #13 - Talisker Dark Storm

Heavily charred sounds nice to me, and I like Talisker, not sure if this is a real effort or another NAS thing that might miss the mark.

Talisker Dark Storm, Island (Skye) Single Malt, 45.8% ABV

Minutia: Matured in some capacity in heavily charred casks. Reviewed blind, neat in a glencairn.

Color: Auburn, 1.5.

Nose: Nutty malt, molasses.

Taste: Oak, malt, honey, light pepper.

Finish: Molasses, musty, smokish. Medium.

Guess: NAS Bunnahabhain, leaning Stiùireadair.

Wow, pretty far off. I had a couple moments of thinking “Is this smoke?” but got a more woody flavor. That kind of makes sense with the heavy char making the oakiness mask the peat. The pepper might have been another clue I missed. Based on my experience with Talisker this is a bit of a let down for me. I thoroughly enjoyed Ardbeg Alligator and Octomore 10.4, both of which featured highly charred casks, so I’d have anticipated liking this a bit more. I’d give it another chance if the opportunity presented itself, but I’m not inclined to seek that out. It does taste a bit smokier after the reveal that it is Talisker, so that speaks to the benefits of trying whisky with and without expectations going in. This wasn’t bad by any means, just short of my expectations for Talisker.

Score: 74

Here are links to the other posts from this calendar:

2020 Advent #9 - Talisker 18

I ended up buying a bottle of this before I tried the sample because it was a good deal. I kept the sample in the pool, though, and held off on the bottle until I had a chance to review it blind. I’m glad it came up so I can consider that bottle eligible for opening.

Talisker 18, Island (Skye) Single Malt, 45.8% ABV

Minutia: Reviewed blind, neat in a glencairn.

Color: Russet muscat, 1.3.

Nose: Honey with light smoke. Some fruity/sweet vegetal note.

Taste: Honey/sweet cereal, subtle smoky background. Bit of a fruit menagerie, for lack of a better word, but behind the honey. The fruit and smoke kind of alternate precedence behind the honey/cereal. Subsequent sips give the honey a bigger feel than the first.

Finish: Smoke, oak, black pepper. Medium.

Guess: Talisker 18. Unfortunately I glanced an ‘18’ when opening the sample, but saw no more than that, so that skewed me a bit.

So, I think I might have gotten this without the peek. It’s too together for me to think it was one of the NAS samples I know could be in the calendar, too subtle to be an Islay or Ledaig, and no Campbeltown magic. I suppose if I didn’t know there were no peated Jura’s in the pool I might have thought that. Anyway. This is really nice. It is smoky enough for those who like that, I think offers enough other elements, mostly more prominent than the smoke, to appeal to less of a peat fan. Unless smoke was aversive in any amount, I can see nearly every whisky fan liking this one. While my score is lower than that given to the 10, I am just more discerning now than I was then. It’s a clear step above, and at a decent price worth the upgrade. In the US, though, the difference is likely too high to really be worth it, at least more than once every now and again, since the 10 is great itself. 

Score: 89

Musical Evocation: Fire Saga – “Húsavík”

Here are links to the other posts from this calendar: