Talisker 30 Year

2017 Release Nose - Ripe apples, honey, oranges, saline Taste - Fruity saline, gentle ashy smoke, minerals, honey, freshly cut apples, sweet mandarins, black pepper bite Finish - Ashy saline, minerals, light mandarins, apples Score - 87/100 Final Thoughts - This felt fairly similar to the 2011 version except that the nose wasn't as pronounced. Similar profile, but I felt as if it was a bit more muted. This felt like it didn't have as much freshly cut fruits and felt a bit more dominated by a mineral aspect, although it did have a slightly more vibrant mandarin vibe vs just a pure orange which was nice. Like the 2011, the body and mouthfeel on this one felt a bit thin for a 30. Enjoyable, but nothing particularly amazing. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe Would I buy a bottle? - No NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

2011 Release Nose - Vibrant ripe freshly cut apples & pears, hint of salt, milk chocolate, honey, golden raisins Taste - Saline, hint of metallic/ashy peat, ripe fresh apples, lemon zest, hint of bitter orange pith, light clove, honey Finish - Lingering salt, gentle ash/metallic, gentle apple/pear sweet Score - 88/100 Final Thoughts - This had a really fantastic nose, loads of fresh cut apples/pears. Palate was great, but it felt a bit thin & lacked body that I'd expect from a 30 year old Scotch. Flavors were there for a nice maritime lightly peated whisky and this would be a fantastic summer night's dram I feel. Not sure it has the body to stand up to a colder fall/winter vibe. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe Would I buy a bottle? - Not another NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

Salty peat notes, some sweetness. Very good, probably not worth $1k+ though.

Dramfest Rare / Old tasting session. It was up against tough competition, '77 Benromach, '78 Caperdonich, and a 1980s 15 year Glenfarclas. This was the 2008 Edition i tried vs the 2015 last time. Light, sweet, maritime salty lemon. Nice dram but didn't hold a candle to the other drams.

Man, i picked a jewel for my 250th Whisky and for a new year's eve dram. It is no mystery that Talisker is my favorite brand, and this, was remarkable. Bottled at 45.8%abv, a classic Talisker measure. Tawny color, angel touched. On the nose it was fantastic. On the palate it was fantastic. The aftertaste was fantastic. The balance was fantastic. End of the review, 100 points. Ok, ok... i will do it properly. It is a 394$ bottle. Neist point is very much alike for $173. That is the only bad thing about it. Nose: Blackberry marmalade meets peat. Meat, Leather (the mythical leather note from old, matured whiskies). Jam, lots of it. English sauce and a caramel/honey note. Amazing. Palate: Has a sweetness in the back, very pleasant. Explosive pepper. So smoky! I can swear smoke comes out your throat like having a cigarrette. Aftertaste: Salt finish, leather. so complex and pleasant. Incredible dram. A 100 over 100 is my score, a very fair one. Everywhere i look for reviews on this one they agree on the perfect score. It is nlt the best whisky ever, but it sure gets close to it. Slainte! Happy new year!

Whilst I agree with the taste descriptors RM outlined I'm more in alignment with scotch harding's scoring. It has the same issue the bottle of 18 I tried has too hot and harsh. I've tried the 25 twice, once was average and overwooded and once was very good so it seems once again there maybe variation in the top end of the Talisker range. Whilst I have a preference generally for younger Islays or best of all blends of young and old stock I still appreciate the exquisite quality of say the Laphroaig 18 or 25. The older Taliskers I've tried mostly don't even have that. They seem all over the place. I thought initially it was a sample vs bottle thing but I drank a whole bottle of the 18 and it didn't improve. It seems the older dated bottles were a lot higher rated on average... hopefully not another scotch distillery going down the toilet. Hopefully your bottle is a better one @1901!