Talisker Storm

Adding 1-2 drops of water to make it smooth and enrich the flavors.

I first had this whisky at a bar, and it was bad. It was Talisker with a soapy taste. Perhaps the bartender wasn’t rinsing the glasses properly, I thought. There was no reason for me to buy an NAS Talisker that is the same price as the 10 year old Talisker, which is probably my go-back-to-whisky of all time. And then I got gifted a bottle of Talisker Storm. Popped it open. It wasn’t terrible. It’s definitely sharper than Talisker 10, replacing some wonderful spiciness with just chemical harshness. But it’s got that nice iodine, maritime peat and citrus that’s in Talisker’s DNA. But, gradually, the palate went off. It might be the soapiness I found at the bar, but having a full bottle to try and characterize what is nasty about it, I am finding more of a metallic chemical Brillo pad note that is in Johnny Walker Red. It took about 4 months and 60% of the bottle to finish before this offputting taste emerged, but when it did, this shit could only go into cocktails or be mixed with ice. Even when I put this in blind line ups, this gets beat by Isle of Skye 8 years every time, and is utterly trounced by Talisker 10. Ultimately, this is just a forgettable whisky, but I almost want to give it a negative score. It’s not quite that bad. It would take a whisky that I would not drink for free even if I felt like drinking, and nothing else was available to deserve a negative score, and this just barely is not that bad. Score: 0 (forgettable) How much does a bottle cost: $45-65 How much do I think a bottle is worth: $10