Talisker 18 Year

Nose: Coffee, maple syrup Palate: Oak, allspice, orange, molasses Finish: Oak, pepper This has the characteristic Talisker pepper but the age has softened the smoke and brine. Tasty but at £175 I’ll probably never buy a bottle. 7.5/10

Light smoke, super smooth.

Peppery, fruity, sweet molasses on the nose. Salt, peat, and pepper again on the palate. That salty, briny, talisker lingers on the finish.

I have been enjoying Island offerings lately. Arran, Highland Park, Talisker. So the opportunity to have a T18 wasn’t something I wanted to miss. Arrived today in the post, and I couldn’t wait to get stuck in… N: instantly recognisable as a crisp, clean, and expertly crafted liquid. There is a sherry fruitiness mixing with beautifully acidic pear-apple juicyness. The smoke is restrained, delicate, and floral. This smoke is less punchy than on the T10, it’s more like aromas of wood smoked meat but so subtle as to not initially become apparent as smoke to me. There is a very slight ocean spray that ties everything together with a beautiful spice on the end. P: a wonderfully thick and heavy arrival. Pepper is there with warm enveloping woody smoke. A hint of coffee with deliciously salty bacon and toffee creaminess. Pepper and gentle chilli build along with light touches of orange peel(?) and chocolate. Complexity unravels through layers of mouth watering excellence. F: Long. Peppery turns to chilli, it’s aggressive but in a great way. It takes command without being obtuse or overpowering. The ocean spray of salt and smoke linger in the back quietly. When I wrote about the T10 I described it as everything warming and wholesome that you would look for having been battered by the rugged coastline that is Skye. Talisker for me, is the embodiment of the lighthouse keeper sitting out the storm watching the waves crash down around. When I picture that lighthouse keeper he is my age, mid thirties. Still youthful and energised, willing to tackle the Sea Fury brewing under the crashing waves (see T8 special edition review). Well, the light house keeper is older now. He is grizzled by the lifetime of a violent ocean, but with an understanding of how to be at one with it. This is the 18. It has all the power of the 10. It is bold, assertive, and rich in depth. But, it is calmer without being subdued. It is the sum total of the tempests violence and the contemplative calmness that follows. This is excellent. [Tasted from a Horny Pony 30 ml sample. Pictured here with a piece of Amygdaloidal Basalt from the Isle of Skye igneous centre, part of the British Tertiary Magmatic Province that developed over a seven million year period (61-54 million years ago) in mainland western Scotland and the offshore Hebridean islands associated with the opening of the North Atlantic Ocean.] Distiller whisky taste #98