Talisker 57º North

Fantastic Dram. Delicous and complex drinking neat. Coastal notes, seaweed, peat with a mild pepper spice. Peat not overwhelming but present.

Scharf auf der Zunge. Rauch im Abgang.

This is now my fourth Talisker. Hot off the heels of the 10, 2021 Special Edition 8 “Sea Fury”, and the 18; I only have expectations of further wonderment from within this little 30 ml tasting bottle. At this point in my whisky education/journey I am a firm fan of the Scottish Isles and Skye’s tempestuous offerings are no exceptions. The consistent theme of depth and brine take me to a place of an old lighthouse keeper watching the waves batter the coast. Named after the latitudinal location of the distillery, Talisker 57° North is a no-age-statement single malt that was released in 2008, initially as a travel exclusive, but has been discontinued. Despite knowing I will never likely drink this again, I was none the less excited at the opportunity. N: I was expecting a stormy smack, but to my surprise this is calm, soft, and warming. Undeniably rich though, there is some sweetness like a caramel biscuit (think Biscoff). The slightest chocolate, honey, and a fresh muddled peppermint herbal note. Of course, there is the Talisker brine with slightly mineralic ashy cured meat smoke. A vaguely fresh oyster maritime smell wafts through. P: Oh, interesting and unexpected again. Like a thin syrup the arrival is coating and powerful. Sweetness, salivating sweetness of gooey creamy caramel turns to peppery-chilli peat that absolutely explodes with layers of buttery popcorn and possibly some apple/pear juice. Everything is vibrant and fills the palate completely. F: Medium-long. Surprisingly fresh with a menthol like cleansing, a light brine and maybe candied lemon vibrancy. A few drops of water stretches things out, brings maltiness a little forwards and accentuates the chilli. Nothing really added, nothing taken away. This is powerful stuff. No surprises, it is a Talisker. It is surprisingly juicy and moreish, but it’s also simple. There are layers but they are the same layers I have found in the other three Taliskers I have tasted on here. Those layers are clean, clear, and sharply defined, but; I feel here there is a lack of uniqueness perhaps. I thought the 57% ABV would unlock something new. Whilst I find elements of the T18 and Sea Fury 8 on the nose this is not as distinct as either (but wonderful all the same). Where the palate of the 18 has orange peel and chocolate, the Sea Fury 8 and 10 have bacon, baking chocolate and earthy minerality. Overall I enjoyed this, it is “better” than the 10, slightly more refined, but not as special as other Taliskers for the same price point. [Pictured with a rather sizeable lump of the Campo Del Cielo nickel-iron meteorite from ~1000 km northwest of Buenos Aires, Argentina. This is a fragment of a meteorite that impacted 4000-5000 years ago and covered an area of 3x19 km and yielded 100 tonnes of material to date. Given that these can’t be “produced” anymore (illegal to remove from Argentina) I thought this rock was appropriate for a discontinued travel retail whisky] Distiller whisky tasting #111

Full rich peat

Pepper and seasalt

Very smooth and Smokey. Lots of black pepper and seaweed.