Tastes

“Made and hand bottled at the Great Southern Distillery in Albany on the harbour’s edge in Albany, this complex and elegant single malt whisky is distilled in traditional small batch copper pot stills from premium local barley. This whisky has been made using a peat from near the ‘Valley of the Giants’ and has been matured in an ex-bourbon American oak cask.” N: very light and cooling. Fragrant malt with a little gristiness, cardamon spice. Light citrus, very thin vanilla, mulled pear, and the slightest sense of damp earth and petrichor. P: light texture, fragrant spice notes are forward: cardamon and cinnamon turning to cracked pepper. Delicate mulchy and vegetal smoke is woven through a young fresh oak and lightly caramel malt. F: medium. Light wood shavings, dried Banana, possibly a nutty hint and very subtle cool vegetal smoke. If you have had the American Oak from Limeburners then this will not surprise you. The influence of a quite strong oak over the Limeburners newmake is a slightly gristy malt with banana influence. The addition of a gentle peat is to unlock a cooling damp woodland feel. Everything here is well made, but perhaps its individuality is underdeveloped. This is clearly an entryway to Limeburners peat expressions, but a far cry from the emotive depths of the Darkest Winter offering. Distiller whisky taste #264 [Pictured here in one of the three Limeburners cellar doors; Giniversity in the south west of Western Australia] Limeburners Running Scores American Oak: 3.75/5 Port Cask: 3.5/5 Sherry Cask: 3.5/5 Peated: 3.75/5 Darkest Winter: 5/5 Directors Cut, Topaque: 4/5 Dugite: 2.75/5 Tiger Snake Sour Mash: 3/5

“As our legend goes, when the tides at Talisker Bay flowed with an unusual force, a luminous creature was drawn from the blackest depths, flooding the deep-sea darkness with its captivating glow. This powerful luminescence was carried on storm-tossed currents to the Talisker distillery, illuminating its new-make spirit. In that spirit too, the vivid luminosity shone, its classic smokiness fading before a radiant tide of spice-bright sweetness rarely seen.” Erm. Jellyfish. Sure. Straight to it then… N: Deep and purposeful. This is the sea spray soaked wooden timbers of a battered ship: tannic, briny, slight seaweed and iodine. Waxy furniture polish, lemon peel, vanilla and warm toasty malt. P: Oily, viscous and with a salt driven textural element. Peppery with a trend towards the chilli catch of most Talisker. A gentle crisp sweetness of lightly caramelised apple or pear is the backing for a salty and tannic smoke. The smoke leans towards bbq but doesn’t get too carried away. Tannins stay behaved and bring warmth and a slight darkness to an otherwise quite bright and lively sweet malt. F: Long. Drying, tannic smoke feeds into more salt and gives way to lasting chilli. A drop of water does little to the nose but is transformative to the palate. Fruity sweetness comes crashing forward and takes the oily textural mouthfeel almost away completely the salt becomes more mineral driven and stony but some of the furniture polish depth, tannic smoke, and touches of bbq are lost for me. Drink this neat, although saying that, i think i just found apricot in the palate, thats bright and unexpected. I’m all out of Talisker. Well, new ones anyway. I’m happy to see T10, Surge, Storm and Parley X on my shelf. I will confirm, Island malts are reigning supreme for me. Talisker are almost unwaveringly brilliant. They have had a few misses in my mind (Port Ruighe, Skye) and some ‘just good’ fare (Storm, T15 2019), but on the whole they are just excellent. When that salty smoke hits it is transportive. Wild seas, crashing waves, salty spray, sea monsters. Bring it. The bbq smoke, touches of sweetness, deftness of touch from tannic wood. My word those Skye folk know exactly what they are doing. Truly like the luminescent jellyfish of the abyss, Talisker could suck me in and drown me in its depths beguilled all the way. Distiller whisky taste #263 [Pictured here with a little clutch of corundum (rubies) to round out this run of Taliskers with rubies, sapphires, and emeralds. These are from Madagascar and I should probably tell you that they are really old, formed from the metamorphism of some mud under stupendous pressures and temperatures and are ] Talisker running scores: T10: 4/5 T18: 4.75/5 Skye: 3.25/5 Port Ruighe: 2.75/3 Storm: 3.5/5 Dark Storm: 4.25/5 Surge: 4/5 57 North: 4.25/5 X Parley Wilder Seas: 4.25/5 T8 2018 Special Release: 4.5/5 T15 2019 Special Release: 3.5/5 T8 2020 Special Release: 4.25/5 T8 2021 Special Release: 4.5/5 T11 2022 Special Release: 4/5

I have said it before, and I will say it again, I am not a huge fan of rum casks. They are just too jarring to me to be balanced and in my opinion; good. But this is the mighty Talisker. Surely the 2020 special edition will deliver the goods… N: Wow, straight off the nose this is a sour sweetness like fermenting apples on the orchard floor. *A short while later…* Ok. Now that the initial sour-sweet overpowering nose has abated there is a delicacy to the sweetness that it imbued with sea side minerality, fresh seaweed, a lift of antiseptic, a stewed brown sugar and apple, and then the all important Talisker bonfire. The smoke is cool though, slightly distant, and wonderful. P: This is 57.9% ABV? I don’t believe it! Wow, that is gentle, soft, silky and mouth filling. If I could speak french in a dimly lit sexy jazz club in the 1920s then I think I’d have a similar mouth feel. The texture is beautiful. A darkening caramel and lovely oaky spice nudges its way in with a development of ash and stoney-granitic pebbles. The fruits of apple and banana-pineapple adopt the BBQ char and saltiness of bacon ends. The medicinal-iodine transfers to the edges of the palate. Black pepper builds through the entire profile. F: Long. Black pepper becomes a very prominent red chilli catch. Caramelised banana and pineapple are remnants of sweetness and the smoke fades to ash and briny embers. A couple of drops of water don’t do too much additive good, if anything the nose is muted and some nasal aggression makes its self known in the form of a generic burn, perhaps the minerality opens up though. The palate again is muted, this isn’t necessarily Talisker anymore its thin, the silky satisfaction has left me and I would be hard pushed to find any real character. This is no longer sexy, rather I’m now speaking Dutch (Babel says its the least sexy language - I don’t mean to offend anyone!). The finish with water is ashy and smoky. Well. There that is. I found a rum cask I can get behind. This is fantastic, blow off the powerful opening gambit and what is left is a craft strength powerhouse of texture and nuance with no real notion of the ABV beast within. Pass on the water and buckle in for a building chilli driven crescendo. Is the chilli a little out of balance by the end, perhaps, mais peu importe, je parle maintenant Français. This is now my yard stick to measure all other rum casks by. Touche Talisker, Touche. Distiller whisky taste #262 [Pictured here with an emerald-biotite schist from Western Australia. It’s late and I want to go to bed. The rock is old as buggery, the emeralds are green and pretty. Rocks are awesome.] Talisker running scores: T10: 4/5 T18: 4.75/5 Skye: 3.25/5 Port Ruighe: 2.75/3 Storm: 3.5/5 Dark Storm: 4.25/5 Surge: 4/5 57 North: 4.25/5 X Parley Wilder Seas: 4.25/5 T8 2018 Special Release: 4.5/5 T15 2019 Special Release: 3.5/5 T8 2020 Special Release: 4.25/5 T8 2021 Special Release: 4.5/5

So far these special releases are going down a treat. That probably shouldn’t come as a surprise, Talisker is a force to be reckoned with. But, I have read some reviews that throw a lot of flak at the yearly specials. I haven’t felt that way yet. Hopefully with a relatively old entry for 2019 I am in for a treat. N: Powerful smack of toasty malt, a hint of dry oatyness (like the inside of a porridge bag) and gentle caramel. As the dram unfolds there is a bit of ethanol prickle, but its joined by a strong black pepper that masks the high proof cleverly. Smoke is something of a whisper, a peaty antiseptic presence and a musty vegetal feel. Maybe some marzipan is trying to push its way in too. P: Ooph, that hits hard. The entry is laced with red chilli and black pepper. Get through that and you realise there is a slightly abrasive but full bodied oiliness to this palate. Quite confronting. Maritime influence emerges with plenty of salt, tannic wood and a medley of fruits: raisin, peach, desiccated orange rind (the kind you decorate cocktails with). Vanillin is here, but it is subtle and maybe accompanied by a dark cherry. F: Long, licks of astringent smoke, salt spray, touch of minerality and a long chilli presence. Beautiful cloudy with a few drops of water (I assumed this would have been chill filtered?). The nose remains forceful and maybe turns a little sour with more mustiness, like overripe fruit or wet leaf litter. The palate isn’t too much changed but the salt is amped up and an ashiness is added to the texture. The finish is all about the ashes of a bonfire and chilli. This is not a normal Talisker. The chilli catch, the salinity are present as always, but they are aggressive. Seemingly untempered by the additional years. The nose is most surprising led by the malt more prominently than I have grown used to in Talisker and evolving into something altogether unexpected with damp mulch and sour vibes. I wouldn’t call this a treat, and I am disappointed it didn’t wow me. It’s an interesting side step for Talisker and clearly charts new ground for the profile. Commendable for going outside the box. In an odd way I’d liken this to Metallica. You know and love Master of Puppets, Ride the Lightning and Black Album are right there alongside it. Then you wait for something just as good and you get Hardwired to Self Destruct. It’s not bad, but it feels different. It’s something a little bit new, and thats a bit jarring; but i’m not going to change the station, and I am going to enjoy the rest of this dram. Distiller whisky taste #261 [Pictured here with an emerald biotite schist. I don’t know where this came from and don’t know how old it is or where it went to school or now works. But, the rather lovely development of a schistose fabric (the layers of the black biotite) tell me that this emerald schist was formed from metasomatic (fancy rock word for chemical transfer driven by hot fluids) overprinting of a rock that formed from the high grade metamorphism of a mud] Talisker running scores: T10: 4/5 T18: 4.75/5 Skye: 3.25/5 Port Ruighe: 2.75/3 Storm: 3.5/5 Dark Storm: 4.25/5 Surge: 4/5 57 North: 4.25/5 X Parley Wilder Seas: 4.25/5 T8 2018 Special Release: 4.5/5 T15 2019 Special Release: 3.5/5 T8 2021 Special Release: 4.5/5

I have not been enjoying whisky for long enough to know whether there is truth to the statements that the classic whiskies were better in years past. For all the Talisker I have drunk though, at its worst, is still acceptable if not good. This 2018 special release though is supposedly a call back to the old-school Taliskers from the 1970s to 1980s. It was matured in first fill ex-bourbon hogsheads casks and bottled at a natural cask strength of 59.4% ABV. N: Powerful. A punchy sweetness of tropical malt, orange, maybe red berry mixes with a vaguely metallic and medicinal cool smoke. Soft undertones of vanilla, toffee, and pepper. P: Smack. Peppery smoke turns to red chilli. BBQ meats, sweet apple, mocha, blackcurrant. This has everything going on, but it is heavy and likely masked by the high ABV. F: Long. Charred wood smoulders, metallic minerality, delicately floral and lingering chilli and black pepper. A few drops of water lifts the nose, fresh malt is more apparent, BBQ develops, and orange takes over the sweeter elements. The smoke has an almost menthol coolness to it now. Wow, so much softer, rounder and juicier. The chilli and pepper heat is toned down and becomes the fruiter end of the chilli spectrum, BBQ meat takes on a charred honey glazed ham and the smoke becomes more like embers hit with sea spray. The finish is much the same the smouldering ember smoke is just fantastic and now, finally, I find some real saltiness and it is spectacular. Damn, bottles of this, if I could find one in stock, seem to now range from AUD$300 up to some truly staggering prices. I am not surprised, for an 8 y/o this has some truly exceptional character and flavour development. The youth is perhaps evident in a high ABV that coupled with the classic Talisker chilli catch is a little aggressive; but still, if this was the only whisky you ever got to drink again I don’t think there would be many complaints. If this is how good all Talisker liquid was 30-40 years ago then I think I need to dedicate my life to time travel. Distiller whisky taste #260 [Pictured here with an emerald schist. Once upon a time (around lunch time Tuesday in the Oligocene) the Proterozoic (super old) metamorphic basement rocks fo the Panjsher Valley in Afghanistan were intruded by a bunch of granites. The resultant fracturing, hot fluid circulation, and alteration of the schists led to the schist being overprinted by feldspars (white), tourmaline (black) and chunky emeralds] Talisker running scores: T10: 4/5 T18: 4.75/5 Skye: 3.25/5 Port Ruighe: 2.75/3 Storm: 3.5/5 Dark Storm: 4.25/5 Surge: 4/5 57 North: 4.25/5 X Parley Wilder Seas: 4.25/5 T8 2018 Special Release: 4.5/5 T8 2021 Special Release: 4.5/5

First there was a Storm (meh), then there was a Dark Storm (huzzah), now there is a Surge. Is this the progression from the storms, or is this another TRE cash grab by the evil overlords at Diageo? With the evocative story lines of Storm and Surge, the battered coastline of Skye is easy to picture. But Trevor in marketing was clearly on lunch break for this release. Surge has a throw away watered down bit of storm related text and thats it. As for a comment about whats in the juice? Literally all I know is it was matured in ex bourbon barrels. For the price of it I want to know that cthulhu is surging form a watery abyss to cram salty demons down my throat. Alas. Still, the worst Talisker is still an enjoyable dram, so lets surge on… N: Salty crisp perfection. Smoke pushes through the salty wall carrying a healthy medicinal twang to the beach bonfire. Hints of toffee and mocha entwined with a vaguely floral honey. For the abrupt salt forward approach this is a delicate thing. As it sits in the glass I perhaps find a peppermint or menthol sinus opening freshness. P: Thinly oily with late ashiness. That gripping Talker cracked pepper to chilli is there and its delightful as always. Salty, unsurprisingly with plenty of minerality. Fresh oysters and a touch of BBQ bacon bits. Heavy on the dark chocolate, sweet notes of raisin (just about) and honied malt. After a little while I am picking up an almost soapy orange note at the front of my palate, a little odd; I’m not sure it’s supposed to be there. F: Long. Lingering ashy smoke, chilli bite, and an ever-present saltiness that has soft tannic toffee in the background. Surge, hmm. After being hit with a wall of salt on the nose I thought Cthulhu was coming for me after all, but it was more of a sea spray than a surging leviathan. An interesting liquid to be sure. The menthol/peppermint late in the nose; makes me wonder if there is part of the 57 North component in here? Maybe. It’s the only other Talisker I have noted it on. Hmm. The heavy blow of of the palate is a maritime smack down. But, it feels like a less refined Talisker 18, especially with the odd soapy orange at the end. I wonder what that is, the effect of sulphur perhaps? The finish is just fine, perhaps too salty stopping some of the calming vanillin coming through. Is it a Surge, it s a salt slap. It’s enjoyable, it will make you pay attention, but its not worth the asking price when the Dark Storm is a 1L for the same price or less in the TRE/NAS bracket. Distiller whisky taste #259 [Pictured here with an ‘anyolite’. This pretty thing comes from the Arusha region of Tanzania in Africa and is named after the Massai word ‘anyoli’ meaning green. Thats not an accepted name though, so best call it what it is, a corundum {ruby} - zoisite - pargasite - granofels. OK, for the sake of character count, anyolite will do. This region of Africa brings the goods every time; the Mozambique belt runs from East Antarctica, through East Africa and into Arabia. A huge mountain suture zone that formed when the super continent Gondwana came together. Along with the ocean sediments that go cooked up in this suture, ocean floor rocks also got super heated and transformed into impressive rock types like this one] Talisker running scores: T10: 4/5 T18: 4.75/5 T8 2021 Special Release: 4.5/5 Skye: 3.25/5 Port Ruighe: 2.75/3 Storm: 3.5/5 Dark Storm: 4.25/5 Surge: 4/5 57 North: 4.25/5 X Parley Wilder Seas: 4.25/5

First there was Storm. Now there is Dark Storm. It has taken me a long time to track down a dram of Dark Storm. Originally released as a TRE I understand this is a very sought after bottling. What I am very unclear on is how it is different to Storm. All I can find is that the Dark Storm uses heavily charred barrels, but that supposed to be what the Storm is; a blend of old and young finished in re-charred barrels. Hmm, perhaps then the Dark Storm is the reference to “the peatiest whisky Talker produces”. N: Straight in with the good stuff… rich, deep, and evocative. Earthy and slightly mineral undertones deliver a unfolding smoke with a hint of oiliness and a tiny touch of floral intrigue. A peppery and slightly tannic prickle is interesting and mingles with slightly sweet pear and an emergent charred BBQ ends. A storm is indeed brewing… P: Mouth coating and full with a slight oiliness that holds the palate firmly in place. Smoke is wonderfully enveloping, warm and powerful with red chilli, briny oysters, a hint of iodine or band-aids. This big entry is backed by a fruity berry sweetness, honeyed-malt, preserved lemon peel(?), and gentle tannic spice. F: Long and changing. The bonfire stays present against a briny sea spray and hits with cracked pepper to chilli heat, some toasty malt, a somewhat astringent tannic-toffee and bright fruity notes. This finish keeps on giving. It has been suggested to me that Dark Storm is a good equivalent to the 2021 8 y/o sea fury special edition. So, I opted to pull up my notes and pour a measure of the Sea Fury alongside the Dark Storm. I can agree that there is cross-over, particularly on the nose but this Dark Storm is quite different. Here the combination of heavy char imparts a toasty depth that comes across as honeyed malt and a thicker smokiness but it doesn’t broil with the same depths and power of the Sea Fury and lacks the more obvious vanillin. the Sea Fury sports a hefty almost 60% ABV, the Dark Storm comes in at the Talisker standard of 45.8% so the comparison isn’t fair from the get go. But, this Dark Storm delivers well. The lift of the sweet fruity notes, and the delicacy of the smoke in spite of its big presence is very well done. The Storm was unnecessary, it was the calm before the true (Dark) Storm. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a Sea Fury to attend to under the Dark Storms waves… Price is for 1000 ml bottle. Distiller whisky taste #258 [Pictured here with a clutch of sapphirine schists from southern Madagascar. Thats sapphirine, not sapphire. Sapphirine is much better. 560-530 million years ago Madagascar for caught up in the assembly of the Gondwanan supercontinent and the closure of the Mozambique ocean. Essentially Madagascar got smashed between India to the east and East Africa to the west. During this time some 720 million year old oceanic sediments were metamorphosed at ultra high temperatures of 800-1000 degrees C at depths of 25-35 km; the result these spectacular rocks.] Talisker running scores: T10: 4/5 T18: 4.75/5 T8 2021 Special Release: 4.5/5 Skye: 3.25/5 Port Ruighe: 2.75/3 Storm: 3.5/5 Dark Storm: 4.25/5 57 North: 4.25/5 X Parley Wilder Seas: 4.25/5

Talisker Storm is a NAS released in 2013 offered more or less alongside T10. The difference to the T10 is mainly in the use of shaved and (deeply) re-charred ex-bourbon casks. The liquid poured into the casks though is a blend of three year old and 25 year old Talisker. N: Dry cool smoke with crisp ocean spray. A prickle of cracked pepper. Slight malty honey sweetness comes forward and is reminiscent of the T10s honey sweetness, but this pushes sweeter into a banana territory and maybe some pear. Is there a floral note, I’m not sure? P: Thick and heavy on arrival with a smack of pepper. Smoke is warm and slightly tannic. Earthy, mineral brine turns to the Talisker red chilli. There is a creaminess in here too, I think its coming from the wood and lands somewhere between toffee and oaked-chardonnay. F: Medium. The smoke fades to red chilli quite quickly, whilst it does though there is a cooling and refreshing lift from a semi-sweet floral note. I think that could just be young new make pushing through? Whatever it is, I’m here for it. As the sip fades completely there is a feeling of embers and beach pebbles. Nose lacks the impetus of the T10 but drifts towards memories of the T18; perhaps this is the combination of old (rumoured 25YO) and young stock. Palate is a bit flat, the youthful elements are fighting with the touches of older stock. The finish is where this gets good in my opinion the fade from smoke to lifting bright sweetness is wonderful. I have a problem with this whisky though. It feels like an unnecessary NAS cash grab; the same as Skye (only this is a bit better). Written on the box is “Clouds begin to gather over the black Cuilin mountains, you can see the mood darken. You can taste it too. Deep smoke swirls with spice. Feel the intensity rise as the storm sets in”. I have never struggled with picturing a rugged coast or a lonely lighthouse keeper facing the storm when drinking Talisker. So, with Storm I was expecting something akin to the 8YO Special Release ‘Sea Fury’. Instead, I found fading intensity and a lack of depth in the palate. The nose held promise, the finish went a calm, but enjoyable, direction. This just isn’t a storm. Ultimately drink this if its available. But, preference T10 if you want an accessible brooding sea. Drink T18 if you want the calmer, softer side of Talisker. Distiller whisky taste #257 [Pictured here with a ruby-garnet schist from the tiny island of Khit Ostrov in the far west of Russia. This rock took quite a journey. Originally laid down as a 2.8-2.5 billion year old muddy sediment it had its chemistry and mineralogy completely rearranged by hydrothermal fluids 2.3 billion years ago. Then, smashed up in a mountain building event 1.9-1.8 billion years ago produced the final form, complete with rubies.] Talisker running scores: T10: 4/5 T18: 4.75/5 T8 2021 Special Release: 4.5/5 Skye: 3.25/5 Port Ruighe: 2.75/3 Storm: 3.5/5 57 North: 4.25/5 X Parley Wilder Seas: 4.25/5

Island or Islay? That’s my current conflict. Where are my personal whisky favourites concentrated? I’m pretty sure that between Arran, Highland Park, and Talisker the podium is fully stacked. I think by the end of a reasonable run on Talisker I have lined up I’ll have my answer. For now. I have six Taliskers under my belt, and eight in this series to savour. Opening tonight with Port Ruighe. Named after the old Isle of Skye trading port, which was coincidently used to trade… port. this liquid was Talisker's second no age statement release for 2013, and it has stuck around. A positive sign perhaps. Port Ruighe combines whisky matured in European and American oak refill casks and heavily charred oak casks; blended, and finally transferred into ex-port casks for finishing. N: Quite aggressive. A powerful wave of woody smoke, a little iodine and band aids, waxiness and the important Talisker briny sea spray. The port cask is weak to me, there is a very gentle chocolate note, a vague suggestion of citrus peel and an over ripe plum. Peppery wood spice picks up eventually. This nose is big, loud and perhaps a little jumbled. Lots to work through in here. As this has opened up further, jammy figgy elements became apparent. P: Oily and warningly tannic mouthfeel. A beautiful smoke and black pepper entry gives way to a lovely salty mineralogy. This is Talisker, no questions. The left turn comes through too. Not the gentle sweetness of T10 but rather a more viscous dark sticky red fruit sweetness, some bright orange oil spritzes and a creamy milk chocolate. F: Medium-long. Fresh red chilli spice, a little coffee bitterness, a faint red fruit syrupy sweetness and a long goodbye from a beach bonfire. I am conflicted. I actually tried this a few years ago in a liquor store, but took no notes. My impression then is little changed now. Whilst the nose promises a smorgasbord, it doesn’t fully deliver. What is there, as individual elements are lovely. But, there is something that doesn’t quite mesh between the core Talisker elements that are just so good… and the juxtaposed sticky-sweetness of the Port Cask influence. There is also something detractive about the wood here, it adds a muting astringency, not a delicate spice lift. Then, there is the price. The price doesn’t affect the merits of the whisky, but the price point for me is AUD$158.99 or $115 online when on sale. T10 is around AUD$98. Thats an easy call to make. Normally I am a sucker for a Port cask, but this feels rushed, incautious and unbalanced. My lowest Talisker rating yet. I am not wavering from my opening paragraph though! Distiller whisky taste #256 [Pictured here with a sapphire-garnet-biotite gneiss from Zazafosty Quarry, Madagascar. A high temperature metamorphic rock formed from originally muddy sediments at the high temperature extremes of metamorphism around 494 million years ago] Talisker running scores: T10: 4/5 T18: 4.75/5 T8 2021 Special Release: 4.5/5 Skye: 3.25/5 Port Ruighe: 2.75/5 57 North: 4.25/5 X Parley Wilder Seas: 4.25/5

Island whiskies (Orkney, Arran, Skye, Mull) are the best. At their worst they are still good. This is a hill I will die on whilst drinking the last of my @cascode box of goodies. Thank you once again Sir. N: Strangely light and bright for a nose heavy in slightly sweet smoke. The smoke is a a tarry-oak with just the lightest mulch-earthy lift. The sweetness is red berries, raisins, and just a hint preserved lemon, maybe? I’ve sat with this for going on twenty minutes and I think there is a salty-minerality and creaminess like churned honey too this nose too. It’s wonderful. P: A powerful wave of warm smoke opens things up. The smoke is slightly meaty, slightly peppery, and with an undertone of stoney-minerality. Creosote-iodine is lovely. Oak adds a tannic astringency and is followed by brine and sweet lemon. The fruits are a little understated but a raspberry juiciness and apple crunch is just about there. F: Medium-long. Smoke hangs on and peppery-oaky warmth hangs on longer. The sweetness of the berries is present without the fruit flavours. Fairly lack lustre, but perfectly pleasant. The great @cascode has a great run down of what is in this liquid and how it was made. It seems to me like an unnecessary experiment. I don’t find too much added save for some sweetness from the wine barrels, but some of the malt that I remember from the L10 is lost. To be honest there seems to be little difference from the L10 and my same criticism applies: this is just a little to simple for a whisky that is expertly made, but seems like it should deliver just a touch more. Something, somewhere, is just missing. Still, lovely, enjoyable, and appreciated; but not worth the exorbitant price. Stick with the L10, or for a fraction more; get the L18. Distiller whisky taste #255 [Pictured here with some ‘Sputnik’ aragonite from Tazouta in Morocco. At Tazouta, aragonite occurs as floaters in a layer of red clay of Permian to Triassic age. Typically dozens of pseudohexagons radiate from a common centre, forming round to oblong clusters with the reddish-brown colour from inclusions of iron oxides.] Tobermory running scores: Tobermory 12: 4/5 Ledaig 10: 3.75/5 Ledaig 18: 4.5/5 Ledaig 2008 12 G&M Hermitage Cask: 3.75/5