Tastes

I have always loved Talisker. It was one of my first loves within the world of whisky and always had at least one of their expressions in my cabinet. In recent years though, I have experienced a bit of quality control issues. The bottle before this one (purchased about 6 months ago on special) was the worst bottle of Talisker 10 that I have ever experienced. It was watery, lacked much sweetness, tasted mostly of off-putting medicinal seaweed, and was also missing the famous Talisker pepper punch. After that, I swore it off, along with all Diageo products (I have had the same experience with Lagavulin 16) until recently most of the Diageo products, in my area, across the board have seen significant price reductions which roped me right back in. Damn you, Diageo! Anyhow, this bottle is a MUCH better experience than the last one and falls more in line with what I typically expect from Talisker 10. Nose: Sweet and salty with a touch of iodine. Caramel apples, vanilla, honey, Juicy Fruit gum, seaweed, a touch of soot Taste: Sweet maritime peatiness. Immediately comes the salty/caramel/fruitiness, the what follows is a huge tidal wave of even more salt, earthy peat, ash, and a smacking of black pepper (some would say chili) that is unique to Talisker. Finish: The aforementioned tidal wave of bigtime salt, black pepper blast, and earthy peat hangs on tight but fades into an astringent, bitter finish. This bottle is a winner. The last bottle would have been scored significantly lower. I find it strange for all the chill-filtration and e150 that Diageo has put into their whisky for a consistent aesthetic experience, they tend to lack the consistency where it actually matters; the taste. Let's hope, in the future, the duds are few and far between and that they are more in-line with this bottle. With that said, I commend them for reducing their prices on the core ranges. Even if it is them flexing their muscles trying to gain more market share and/or inducing a pricing war, it will ultimately benefit us consumers.

Nose: bigtime leather, tobacco, oak, cherries, fuji apple, a lil grassy, cinnamon, nutmeg...it's bright, spicy, and slightly funky ....hardly any alcohol fumes to speak of. Taste: More leather and tobacco, and a bit of funk...vanilla, charred oak, cinnamon, cherries, herbal, maple, almond skins...very rustic...it's a lot hotter on the palette than the nose. Slightly oily mouthfeel. Finish: More leather, charred oak, vanilla, herbal, touch of mint, quite spicy...allspice-like...medium-long length Empty Glencairn aroma: Extremely funky...reminiscent of that brettanomyces band-aidy smell alond with maple syrup and oak. Admittedly, I am more of a Scotch dude than a bourbon guy but this is right up my wheelhouse. I tend to enjoy most WT products and this is the best of them that I have had the pleasure of having so far. I'd even venture to say that it's definitely one of the best bourbons I have ever had. It's quite rustic with a touch of funk without being overly sweet like a lot of bourbons can get. It's a masterfully made whiskey. Too bad it's so damn expensive. Is it worth it? That's for you to decide.

Nose: sherry influence is immediately apparent. Marzipan, figs, apples, sugar cookies, slightly grassy, cashews, a touch of funk Taste: follows the nose...marzipan, fig butter, apples, chocolate-orange, nutty, a bit of sulphur. Finish: this is where, imo, this whisky falls off. It’s short, a bit strident, and bitter with some sulphur notes and a touch of peatiness although this isn’t Peated. Not worth the MSRP of approx 90-95 dollars in the USA but I scored a couple bottles on Black Friday at a liquor store who clearly had no idea wth they were doing for $12/ bottle. All in all, I’d say it was worth it.