Talisker 18 Year

Nose: subtle smooth peat, grapefruit, fragrant ground black pepper, this one really delivers on the famous maritime note with an interesting salty side note in the back of the nose. Slight leather notes as well and some bitter oranges. Later there also is Tomato and other more subtle vegetal notes that go together with the briny but sweet peat very well. Also I got a very new aroma of olive oil much later into the dram with a few drops of water in. Palate: baking spiced nuts with chili, malty and sour bitter with that grapefruit note again, gets very sweet slowly and with it much smoother too. Finish: herbs and spices in caramel, nice wood and peat. In conclusion the spices - both intense and smooth - are the best part of this whisky but they rely on the awesome peat the malty & fruity sweetness which come together in a nice harmony of aromas and flavors. The age really does it good. In comparison with all the other expressions this really is a lot more balanced and mellowed down. I can see what Talisker wants it Whisky to be. The 20y+ bottlings must really be a treat.

Re-review at bottle kill. Talisker has a quality control problem. Every other bottle of whiskey I’ve bought only gets better once it’s open but this is now the third bottle of Talisker I’ve bought in the past two years that goes flat like day old beer. I’ve had bottles of 10, DE, and now this 18, which cost no small sum, loose body, flavor, and mouthfeel the longer they’re open, leaving them a shell of their former selves. If you read my previous Talisker reviews, I’ve heaped lots of praise on the brand. All my reviews were early in the bottle. If anything, let this re-review serve as a warning and perhaps a lesson that over filtering, over processing, colouring, and over marketing your products is not a good long term brand strategy to engender loyalty. I like Talisker. It was my gateway into peated whisky, but I’m done with Diageo and their focus on profit over product. There’s better single malts out there. Cheers friends.