Kategoriarkiv: Talisker

Talisker 25 YO Cask Strength (Special Release 2004)

november 1, 2025 williamswhiskydatabase Lämna en kommentar

ABV: 57.8 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 5/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet fruits and peat. At first there’s a sweet mix of honey, vanilla and peaches. There’s a minerality inside as well as a hint of dry soil. When it starts to settle the peatiness moves up along the edges and brings some coastal notes with it. It feels a bit fresher than its age but it does have a deeper side and complexity to it. The old oakiness slowly emerges with a good portion of time in the glass. This is a fantastic nose with a lot to offer to both the casual drinker and the explorer.

Mouth: It starts out with the peat around the edges. It has a lot more smokiness to it than on the nose and it’s still mineral rich. The center part is spicy, yet brings forward peaches and honey. It’s here the age shows itself as well with old oak and dusty leather bound books. The background notes are slightly bitter and nutty with coffee and walnuts. The high ABV never mellows and it’s an extremely powerful experience.

Finish: The transition is very logical and it doesn’t move too far in any direction. The peaches and honey, together with vanilla and old oak, create the first part of the finish, while the peat slowly moves back. The minerality disappears and gives way to some coastal notes, but it still maintains the same overall character. The oakiness is now spreading out on the palate and joins the walnuts and coffee for a very long and rewarding finish which seems to last forever. This is an absolutely marvellous dram overall.

Additional information
This whisky was aged for in refill ex-sherry casks. It’s a 2004 diageo special release limited to 21000 bottles.

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Islands, Talisker

Talisker Distiller’s Edition 2010/2020

oktober 4, 2024 williamswhiskydatabase Lämna en kommentar

ABV: 45.8 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is fruity and peaty. At first, there’s a mix of darker red berries and dried fruits. Behind there’s a layer of vanilla and honey with some salt and dry soil. Even further back there are some brighter fruits like green apples. The peatiness is creating a an outside layer of tobacco and woodfire smoke. A medicinal note comes through after some time in the glass.

Mouth: At first there’s a syrypy sweetness together with a touch of black pepper. The darker fruit notes are up front and after a second or two the peatiness starts to build up once again. The tobacco is present as well as the coastal salty notes. There’s some vanilla coming through as well as salted caramel. There’s a thin note of tropical fruitiness peeking through as well.

Finish: Black pepper together with the coastal notes lead way into the finish. There’s a quite noticable saltiness and it’s still got an earthy feel to it. The sherry is now a bit toned down and the fruitiness is much brighter than before with dried apricots and dried red berries. After some time the oak comes through. It’s a mild oakiness accompanied by the coastal notes all the way to the end. In the late finish the tobacco notes reappear as well as some walnuts. This is a great whisky with a nice fruity twist to an otherwise rowdy experience.

Additional information
This is basically the Talisker 10 YO finished for about a year in ex-Amaroso sherry casks. It has around 20 ppm. It’s aged for 10 years in reconstructed american ex-bourbon oak barrels before the finishing period.

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Islands, Talisker

Talisker x Parlay Wilder Seas

oktober 4, 2024 williamswhiskydatabase Lämna en kommentar

ABV: 48.6 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 1
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Sample added to queue. Tasting notes pending.

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Additional information
This limited release whisky was first aged in ex-bourbon barrels and then finished in ex-french oak XO Cognac casks.

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Islands, Talisker

Talisker Skye

september 20, 2024 williamswhiskydatabase Lämna en kommentar

ABV: 45.8 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 2/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and peaty. At first there’s a slightly wet peatiness and a mild honey sweetness. Underneath there’s a thin peachy fruitiness. There are salty coastal notes on top. It feels slightly spirity and the whole doesn’t pop out of the glass from the start. When it starts to open up ginger and toffee arrives in the center, but it never loses the spirity feel. This is a decent nose which feels unbalanced, young and with the components in disarray.

Mouth: It starts out with the wet peatiness and a mix of tobacco and toasted bread within. There’s a hint of the toffee and fruits, but the mouth goes dry almost immidiatly and the mouthfeel isn’t the greatest. The burnt oakiness is already taking over which is a bad sign for the rest of the journey. It’s salty and the coastal notes are still sitting on top, but the mix of oak spices and the young spirity notes ramps up the oakiness even more when it sets of.

Finish: The oak makes the transisiton very spicy and dry. The other flavours doesn’t seem to be able to push through. There’s an apricot fruitiness floating around on top when it finally starts to calm down. There’s still a saltiness, but the peatiness shifts and becomes more mineraly in the late finish. The toasted oak is just too strong to make everything accessible. This is a so-and-so whisky which feels over-oaked and unbalanced.

Additional information
The Skye was released in 2015. It’s matured in a combination of refill and toasted american oak casks with a slightly higher proportion of toasted casks. It’s unchillfiltered.

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Islands, Talisker

Talisker 8 YO – Special Release 2021

september 3, 2024 williamswhiskydatabase Lämna en kommentar

ABV: 59.7 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 1
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Sample added to queue. Tasting notes pending.

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Additional information
This whisky is one of Diageo’s special releases 2021. The is no information about which casks are used. It’s bottled at natural cask strength.

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Islands, Talisker

Talisker Dark Storm

augusti 17, 2024 williamswhiskydatabase Lämna en kommentar

ABV: 45,8 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and peaty. At first there’s a deep sweetness with a fresh tropical fruitiness attached to it. There’s a nice dollop of peat which feels very integrated with the other flavours. It’s a mix of coastal notes, tobacco and leather. The charred oak comes through after a few seconds and adds vanilla and a hint of cocnut to the mix. With time in the glass the fruitiness becomes more and more noticable. This is a great nose with a lot of dimensions to it even though they all seem to fit nicely together.

Mouth: It starts out a lot less sweet. The peat is now much more dominant and rowdy with salty coastal notes as the main feature. The fruitiness is pushed back and becomes lemon and orange peel in the background. It still feels vibrant and fresh without feeling too young. In the middle there seem to be a textured and dusty vanilla with some cask char and a hint of honey floating around. There’s a spicyness slowly increasing in intensity over time as well.

Finish: The finish starts out with vanilla and oak in the back together with the orange peel bitterness. The spicyness and the peat sit on top. For the first time it doesn’t feel quite as balanced and most of the notes stay far back on the palate. The only thing happening in the later parts of the finish is that the oakiness increases in intensity and it almost feels too oaky after a while. It’s a fresh sawdust oakiness and the char notes are certainly present. The coconut flashes by briefly but it just feels like chewing on a piece of wood in the end. This is a very good whisky but it’s not without flaws. The nose is by far the best part of the journey.

Additional information
This is a travel retail exclusive release first launched in 2013. It’s aged for an undisclosed time in heavily charred oak casks.

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Islands, Talisker

Talisker 10 YO

september 15, 2023 williamswhiskydatabase Lämna en kommentar

ABV: 45.8 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 3
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and peaty. A mild peatiness and some seasalt are the first things to come through. There are leather and black liquorice together with a fruity backdrop of apples and a squeeze of lime. Honey and vanilla act as fillers and sits in the gap between the peat and the fruits. A medicinal note comes forward after a while as well as a savory one. It’s nicely balanced and quite pleasant on the nose.

Mouth: A slightly bitter start, with a bit of spicyness to it, is followed by a very pronounced medicinal iodine note. The peat is not as present on the palate as on the nose but it’s still easily detectable. Now it leans even more towards the leather note. Both the spicyness and the bitterness continously move forward over time. There’s also a sweeter side to it with honey, vanilla and a complement in some salted caramel. There’s dry oak and it’s slightly astringent. The fruitiness is basically hidden by everything else but there’s still a lime note in the back.

Finish: There’s an initial dip in flavour before it picks up speed again. The bitterness comes first and then the medicial note follows. It soon moves over to a dusty oakiness that kind of lacks character. The savory note returns and sits in the center of the palate together with honey and baked apples. It’s still a bit spicy and astringent. The peat notes return in the tail together with the oak. A nice surprise pops up and black liquorice suddenly appears a long way down the line.

Additional information
This is a part of Diageo’s ”The classic malts of Scotland” series. It has around 20 ppm. It’s aged in reconstructed american ex-bourbon oak barrels. The reconstructed casks are made into a larger size than the original barrels.

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Islands, Talisker

Talisker Port Ruighe

juli 23, 2023 williamswhiskydatabase Lämna en kommentar

ABV: 45,8 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is mixed fruits and mild peat. At first there’s a sweet fruity center with an outside layer of mild tobacco peatiness and dried tropical fruits. The background is salty and coastal and comes through with a hint of toffee. With time in the glass the fruitiness moves forward and reveals red berries and apricots. The peatiness shifts towards dry soil with a feint note of cold ashes. The whole thing is sweet and a vanilla notes comes through towards the edges. The sweetness seems connected to everything else and doesn’t produce notes on its own. This is a nice and pleasant nose which offers opportunity to explore but it feels somewhat subdued.

Mouth: It starts out with a salted caramel center with a coating of sweet dark and ripe fruits. The fresher fruits seem to have disappeared at this point. The peatiness is still earthy and keeps a thin note of tobacco and it stays around the edges. The coastal feeling is still found in the background. The different components feel somewhat separarted and resides in their own space of the palate. There’s a black pepper spicyness to it but it’s very mild and it takes a few seconds for it to show up.

Finish: The finish starts with a fresher fruitiness coming through with a mix of dried tropical fruits and a hint of lemon. The finish starts off quite narrow and it takes a few seconds for the peatiness to once again show up as a surrounding layer. The port cask influence are not very noticable in the finish except for a very nice nutty oakiness. The late finish offers a mix of walnuts, a mild black pepper spicyness and a hint of fruitiness. This is a very good whisky with a lot to offer. It lacks a bit of the rowdy and vibrant heritage and the flavour components could use some more time to merge.

Additional information
The Port Ruighe was released in 2013. It’s aged for an undisclosed time in ex-bourbon barrels and then finished in ruby port casks.

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Islands, Talisker

Talisker 25 YO (2013)

april 1, 2023 williamswhiskydatabase Lämna en kommentar

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is peat and fruits. At first there’s a mild pipe tobacco peatiness which soon mixes with vanilla and apricots. With time in the glass everything merges together nicely and expands. There are notes of almonds, honey, lemon and green apples all mixed up into the whole but apricot jam with tobacco remain the main features. There are hints of newly oiled old wooden furniture for those who wait as well. This is an amazing nose which gives more and more as time passes. It’s very well balanced and nicely put together.

Mouth: It starts out with a mix of honey and a big hit of the oiled oak furniture, minerals and apricots. It immidiately gives out a lot of subjective notes of age, like dust and old leather books as well. There’s a nice little spicyness on top, but it’s very round without any sharp edges. After a second or two the leather books are joined by the tobacco notes from the peat. The lemon also returns in the back, but now as a peel note with a bitterness attached to it.

Finish: The transition is slightly more spicy, but it’s a mild increase. It could do with a bit more power overall. At this point the apricot jam has disappeared and been replaced with the lemon peel note. The old oak furniture notes start to take over and takes the tobacco and leather notes with it. The finish really accentuates the notes of age. It’s dusty old oak, oil and lemon peel all the way. In the late finish there’s an umami note arriving in the back. This is a fantastic whisky which delivers on its premisses. It really shows off both the age and the Talisker house style.

Additional information
This whisky was aged in refill casks, which type is not disclosed. The bottle tried is no. 5146/5772.

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Islands, Talisker

Talisker Storm

juli 8, 2022 williamswhiskydatabase Lämna en kommentar

ABV: 45.8 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 1
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Sample added to queue. Tasting notes pending.

See the queue here.

Additional information
The Talisker Storm was released in 2013. It’s aged in a mix of refill ex-bourbon and recharred ex-bourbon barrels for an undisclosed amount of time.

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Islands, Talisker

Talisker 18 YO

maj 2, 2020 williamswhiskydatabase Lämna en kommentar

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.

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Islands, Talisker

Talisker Distiller’s Edition 2001/2012

december 19, 2019 williamswhiskydatabase Lämna en kommentar

ABV: 45.8 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is coastal and fruity. At first, the sherry notes come up with darker fruits and red berries. Behind there’s a layer of vanilla and honey with some salt and white sand mixed in. Even further back there are some brighter fruits like green apples. The feint peatiness is creating a thin veil of smoke from mentholated tobacco. A medicinal note comes through after some time in the glass.

Mouth: At first there’s a bitter note together with a touch of spices. After a second or two the peatiness starts to build up with a very medicinal aura. The tobacco is still present but it has strayed from the menthol. The sherry notes are somewhat held back and acts as fillers for the harsher flavours. There’s some vanilla coming through but the honey sweetness is now gone.

Finish: The menthol comes back and together with the medicinal notes the lead way back onto the beach. There’s a quite noticable saltiness and it’s still got an earthy, sandy feel to it. The sherry is still toned down and the fruitiness is much brighter than before. After some time the oak comes through. It’s a mild oakiness. There’s no astringency and it never sits alone. It’s accompanied by the medicinal notes all the way to the end. In the late finish the tobacco notes reappear. This is a dram with a nice fruity twist to an otherwise rowdy experience.

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