ABV: 45.8 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 5/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is mellow peat and fresh fruits. At first, there’s an array of fruits sitting inside a circle of gentle peat. It’s oranges and grapefruits side by side with ripe apples, dried apricots and just a hint of overripe plums. The peatiness is a warm, burning bonfire, but it’s out in the distance and not very protruding. The whole thing is kept together with vanilla and oak. With time in the glass it gets fruitier. There is a coastal, salty note but it’s buried deep within. It feels a bit fresher than its age and it’s a very nice, complex nose.

Mouth: It starts out quite mild and sweet but after a few seconds the flavours start rushing in. The fruitiness is now leaning heavily towards grapefruits and dried apricots with just a hint of raisins. The peat is creating a thin oily outside layer. In the dead center there’s a dusty oak note. It’s spicy but it’s a slow build up, which makes it easy to handle throughout. The oakiness seems to be connected to a malty beer note. It becomes sweeter and with time in the glass brings a honey note aswell.

Finish: It starts out quite spicy with a nice transition of flavours from before. It’s still grapefruits and apricots with a hint of darker notes and the peat is still creating the oily outside layer. The coastal note becomes more clear in the late finish, as well as the dusty oakiness, which fits nicely together with the bitterness coming from the grapefruits. The malty beer returns in the late finish as a nice little surprise. The late finish leaves a hint of peat and lemons. This is a complex dram with a lot to offer.

Additional information
The Talisker 18 YO is aged in both american ex-bourbon barrels and european ex-sherry casks. There not much information other than that to be found.