Talisker Dark Storm

This review basically could be condensed down into a cross-reference to my prior review of Talisker Storm, with the caveat that this whisky has more assertive notes of barbecue smoke, sweet caramel, and chili pepper. I tried this in an airport duty-free shop, which is the main place that you can find this travel retail exclusive. Compared to Storm, Dark Storm strikes its notes with more power and clarity, which makes it the better pick in my book. It's surprising that two scotches bottled at the same ABV and aged using similar techniques (apparently the main difference is a higher char level for this expression) could differ so much in perceived strength. Blind, I would have guessed this was an amped-up, 50% ABV version of Storm.

Smoky start. burn finish