Tastes

Curing medicinal and stewed sweetness. Dainty, elegant and ashy. Honey, apple, pear, sea grass, black tea, golden raisins - dried fruit, medicinal indeed, and brine, very herbaceous offered by the humble amount of peat - light but firm and concentrated. Oily, mouth-coating yet very soft on the palate; spiciness emerged in the mid palate along with the fruits. Golden raisins, dried fruits and ash on the finish, as I exhale the peat smoke, salt, the sea, and the heart curing medicine out through my nostril - not awfully long, but ashy, satisfying and comforting. It's tender, I'd not call it light - soft? It's got its backbone. This is so right, and this is a treat, no two ways about it.

Surprisingly OK. Sweet and very simply sweet; and malty. Nothing's wrong with it. Yea, meh.

Malty and sweet. Dangerously simple and smooth that keeps you pouring. Rather pleasant.

Lovely, very delicate nose - peach, honey, blossom, sugary sweetness, a wee bit sea spray and tartness at the end, a teeny weeny smoke detectable - quite inviting, almost perfume-like. On the palate, light and tender, yet I still get its weight - floral, milky, chocolaty, very gentle; warming, lasting, soft spiciness - that coming all of a sudden - and then some lovely tartness, and then ginger emerged rearmost, very soft. The finish is disappointingly not so long-lasting. Still, shall be my favourite from Highlands so far.

Light, floral, mild and a long finish.

A wee bit disappointing, since I love Talisker 10 so much. Everything I get from the 10 I get from this actually as well, but the additional sherry influence just somehow, to me, instead of enhancing it, masking the greatness of the 10 a little. It's still something I absolutely appreciate, but if you haven't tried the 10, I'd say try the 10 first. Full, satisfying nose - not very pronounced. Wind wave, salty, brown sugar, and some kind of dessert sweetness - overall reminds me of Highland Park 12, which in my memory was more pronounced though scattered - fruity, dried fruit, still, there's some freshness - something in-between - signature Talisker? Warming, woody spicy golden raisins, dried fruits on the palate - quite fruity and peppery - not that spicy, more just about being peppery. Finish is where the smoke and peat coming, big, long and awesome. It has somehow similar profile to Glen Scotia 15 to me - it's perhaps more accomplished, yet has maybe less personality. Not that complex, but full, rich and satisfying.

Earthy, woody, seaweedy, smoky and peaty, not much fruit going on. Iodine. Faint sweetness, not-sure-what-kind sweetness, stewed fruit? It's surprising, so you may feel sweeter than what it actually is - if drinking side by side with most others, you get what I mean. A tiny bit spice on the palate - gentle and soft. A little briny, and a bit tartness. Weighty (as opposite to minty, refreshing or fairy, whatever you call it) and deep. Exceptional complexity for the price - that kind of complexity that you don't really have to discover, it's just right there, straightforward and you get a mouthful of lots and lots of them - powerful and soothing at the same time. I'd try always keep one on my shelf - when you get in that mood, you just need this.

Fruit, honey, salt on the nose, recognizable sherry influence. Delightful spice, fruit sweetness and brine on the palate. Light burn, oily. Medium to long warm salty finish. Mild peat from nose to finish. Not that complex, can definitely be satisfying depends on what you want at that moment - sweet and spice, all around, everything in its right place but nothing impressively stands out. I hate to give it a 3, but there're just some others I like more.

Cooked brown sugar that's intense to balance the smoke. Oatmeal Instead of fruit, I got candy, cereal and cookie? On the nose, quite special and rather faint medicinal peat, brine, and a little spice. Somehow mineral. Pretty full and intense on the palate, peppery (not necessarily spicy) and salty. The sweetness is quite strong when it touches my tongue, but it fades away very quickly and leads to a drying finish. Drinking side by side with Laphroaig 10 - it's even drier overall than Laph 10. Medium to long finish.