Jose-Massu-Espinel
Talisker 41 Year Old The Bodega Series 1978
Single Malt — Islands, Scotland
Reviewed
June 7, 2021 (edited June 18, 2021)
Back in 1978 where i wasn't even born and my parents haven't even met yet, the Bee Gees were on the top charts with "Night Fever"; exactly back then, a Talisker was distilled to be bottled 41 years later and meet me. This expression is their second release from "The Bodega Series", which name was picked because of the special maturation in sherry casks which were 100 years old, sourced from the Delgado-Zuleta bodegas in Spain.
Bottled at 50.7%abv, this single malt was matured first in refilled american white oak casks, to then be finished in 6 manzanilla sherry barrels which are 100 years old, sourced from one of the oldest working bodegas of Spain. The box that holds the bottle allegedly is made by sherry oak as well.
Lets review this baby!
On the nose, it is very good, but i expected even more. Starts with your typical Talisker peat, naranjilla (a fruit that is very popular in Ecuador, you might know it as "lulo"), cigarrettes, ashes, salty, citric. Very good stuff. After a first sip, the aroma became fruitier and more maritime as well. Grapefruit, red fruits, strawberries and cherry syrup. Orange peel and a thick coffee caramel.
On the Palate, it is an incredible, out of this world whisky. Starts salty, very maritime, then it turns sweet in an amazing twist of events. Oranges, it doesn't fell like a 50.7%abv dram at all, actually you can hold it in your mouth for 41 seconds easily. Pepper, super fancy. A second sip gave me sea water, red fruits, prunes, some acid fruits and there is chocolate lurking somewhere.
Aftertaste is fantastic. Cigarrettes, ashes, sawdust. Sulphuric and metallic. All that in a very good way. There is this orange infusion that lasts for a second; pepper. Eternal finish, it never ends. Salty.
Overall, i truly believe this is a fantastic whisky. Having said that, i don't believe that you should expend $4000 in a whisky, because it won't be THAT much better than a very good $250-400 one. I have had some very expensive whiskies in my journey, and most of them were very good, but not far from a three hundred dollars one. Setting all that aside, i don't believe that this is too far from other old Taliskers, like the 25 or 30yo. And when i rated those ones, i didn't believe that the 18yo was far from them as well. Talisker in my books will most likely get five stars, since this distillery make whiskies that fit my preferences. My score for this marvelous single malt is 97 over 100. Slàinte!
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@Scott_E i agree 100%. specially in.the 150-200 budget, where most of the best whiskies are: Glendro 18, Signet, Glendro 21, HP the Dark
@PBMichiganWolverine thanks my friend!
@Ctrexman i agree 100%. and night fever is a hit
@Jose-Massu-Espinel agree with you as well. My favorites typically run in the $150-$200 range. Whenever the opportunity affords itself to sample, buy, etc., grab it, enjoy it, savor it. We have but one life.
@Jose-Massu-Espinel experience is something you’ll remember forever—-with that said, I’m glad you got to try it—-it’s like one of those once-in-a-life experiences
Hey I think Night Fever is a great tune. Diminishing returns is across all products but if you got it you get to experience the best the world has to offer. We are only here for one spin so yolo
@PBMichiganWolverine i agree with the analogy, but for rating purposes i don't ever consider the price of the bottle. having said that, this is a pricey whisky that i can not afford, so the sample i managed to get, gave me the chance to taste it and rate it without been biased by the price.
@ctbeck11 thank you my friend. i got a sample of this one on an auction. i always wanted to try it
@Scott_E actually, most of my favorite whiskies are really in the range of 150-200 dollars. like the almighty Glendronach 18
@PBMichiganWolverine great analogy. Agreed. It’s all relative to what one finds valuable or rewarding, how much they are willing to pay for that piece of art (or not)
@Scott_E @Jose-Massu-Espinel this is more like a work of art...you spend thousands on a art work to hang up, and look at. This is the same——it’s a piece of art, that coincidentally you can drink.
Every day I grow more and more jealous of your tasting exploits. Great review. I’ll hold out hope that some of these whiskey granddaddies cross my path in the future.
Agree with your opinion that spending thousands on whisky is, relatively, not exponentially better than a hundred+ dollar whisky.