ctbeck11
Talisker 8 Year (2020 Special Release)
Single Malt — Islands, Scotland
Reviewed
June 6, 2021 (edited December 2, 2021)
Nose - earthy peat, brine, rocky minerality, lemon meringue, iodine, sweet chili BBQ sauce, pineapple rind, vanilla, plantain, oyster, mignonette, white wine, powdered sugar, cinnamon, clove, moderate to high ethanol burn.
Taste - lemon meringue, sweet peat, rock salt, pineapple, marshmallow, salted caramel, cinnamon, flint, smoked meat, vanilla cream, clove, iodine, chili pepper, grapefruit, cinnamon, moderate to high alcohol bite, finishing medium length with lemon zest, sweet, briny peat, and rich tropical fruit flavors.
Yes! This is how I want my Talisker to be. The nose is milder than I anticipated, but juicy, tropical fruit notes join that meaty, briny, peaty classic aroma I know and love. There’s a more pronounced mineral quality that conjures memories of shucked oysters with lemon and mignonette sauce.
The palate is next level awesomeness. To say it’s mouth watering is an understatement. The rum finish is subtle, but adds a nice tropical juiciness not found in the core range. The smoky, salty, high proof arrival initially sucks the moisture from your mouth, which is then immediately quenched by juicy, citric fruitiness, only to be followed by the return of rocky, briny peat on the finish, drawing you back in for another sip.
I need a bottle of this. Why didn’t I buy one when it released?! I thought for a good while about giving this a perfect score, but I think it just slightly misses the mark. Nonetheless, this is a phenomenal whisky that deserves your attention. If anyone has a line on one anywhere near retail, let me know. I’ve already spent a couple months’ worth of my liquor budget this past week, but would make yet another exception and add this to my collection. A big thank you to @jonwilkinson7309 for the sample. This one is special.
Create Account
or
Sign in
to comment on this review
@soonershrink It’s certainly a distillery I’ll be keeping an eye on in the future. It’s promising that such a young initial release is faring as well as it has.
@ctbeck11 Sorry for the confusion. That makes more sense. The Torabhaig was nice for the 55 I paid, but I don't think worth twice that.
@soonershrink Ha! That explains it. I was thinking you meant the Talisker. Doesn’t look like Virginia has any allocation, but looks like I could get it online for $60-$70 before shipping. It’s probably one I’ll wait to find in a store for retail or at a restaurant possibly.
@ctbeck11 To be clear, I was talking about the Torabhaig - is that what you're saying was marked up to 110?
@soonershrink That’s crazy talk. When it was on the shelves in Virginia, the price was $110. Best I can find now online is $140 shipped. If you’re seeing it for that price, buy it now. And then ship it to me for quality assurance purposes :)
@ctbeck11 What's the going rate where you are? I've seen it in store here in the last couple weeks in the 50-60$ range.
@Anthology I have not, but would love to try it. Probably not willing to spring for a bottle at the going rate, but hope to cross paths with it sometime in the future.
Nice review! Have you tried the new Torabhaig from same Scottish isle @ctbeck11 . I saw @PBMichiganWolverine describe it as a mini/young Talisker.
@Soba45 That’s probably the case. I’d be willing to pay more, within reason. Same idea as the Laphroaig cask strength. There’s a premium, but consumers like us will shell out for the experience.
@ctbeck11 Yes I was hoping the same thing. Maybe they are trying to keep it 'special release' to justify the premium over the 10 yr. :-)
@jonwilkinson7309 Thank you! Yep, I’ll be digging into their selection as soon as I can stomach another non-trivial purchase.
Great review, and yes - this one is special. One of my favorite Taliskers. And a +1 on finedrams. I've placed a number of orders with them and have always been happy.
@Ctrexman If you like Talisker, I think you’ll love this. Highly recommend trying if you ever stumble upon it.
@Soba45 I wish they would add something similar to the 2018 to their core range. It’s essentially just younger, stronger Talisker 10, and I would stock one forever.
This sounds great
Great you got to try it. I believe the 2018 was on average rated even higher. I haven't tried this one but the 2018 was awesome!
@PBMichiganWolverine Awesome. Thanks for the suggestion. I’ve never used them before, but will check it out.
@ctbeck11 finedrams.com has it too…and cheaper at $85. Shipping is cheap too. I’ve bought a few things from there —very reliable
@PBMichiganWolverine Well then I’ll just have to defer that decision to the next time I’ve had a few too many drinks. Good decisions are made when I’m sober. The best decisions are made when I’m not :)
@ctbeck11 yeah—shipping from TWE is bad. Doesn’t get any better when 2-3 more bottles are added
@PBMichiganWolverine Oof shipping is a killer on TWE. I’ll keep it in mind if I do a larger order from them in the future, so I can spread the shipping costs across a bunch of items.
@ctbeck11 i think it’s still available on TWE —-about $100 or so