“Diageo Special Releases 2021” tasting at The Oak Barrel, Sydney, 22 June 2022. Whisky #6 Nose: Bracing, uplifting smoke – large in quantity but light of touch. Flints, seashore pebbles, drying seaweed, the petrichor of sweet rain washing away seaspray, green apple skins, freshly shucked oysters, smoked white fish with fennel. The addition of a little water brings out kalamata olives in white vinegar, and a good dash of water unveils sauvignon blanc aromas. Palate: Initially sweet but austere and highlighting smoky salted lemon, the palate quickly develops with great finesse. The omnipresent smoke is soft but assured and has an unmistakable maritime quality. Lemon rounds sprinkled with sea salt grilling beside sea bass drizzled with unripe pineapple juice. Soft fresh cereal flavours peep through. There is a stony, mineral aspect that balances a blend of hazelnut milk chocolate, water chestnuts, pepper and a very restrained pinch of chili. The texture is crisp but also full and satisfying. Finish: Medium/long. Sweet grains and mild smoke with a return of light citrus in the aftertaste. This whisky is like a precise surgical tool, a master-crafted rapier, a shimmering flawless-cut topaz or a Rothko painting. In comparison, the vast bulk of whiskies are mere blunt instruments. It has an achingly beautiful light maritime nose and taste that is solidly smoky but sufficiently restrained to allow other aromas and flavours to shine through. Like a delicate chiaroscuro modulating the brightness of an antique portrait, it achieves incomparable integration and yet is only 8 years old. This is formidable whisky making. It can also swim like a dolphin and whilst enticing in neat form, with water it becomes almost too easy to quaff and there is at no time any sign of rubber or plastic regardless of the degree of dilution. It just gets easier to take and a fraction sweeter. Interestingly there is virtually no sign of the expected Talisker “chili catch" – in fact none at all really. There is a light hot spice note, but in comparison to any other Talisker under the age of 25 it is exceptionally mild. You might expect a clean, crisp whisky such as this to be highly distillate driven but I don’t think that’s the case here. It was matured in heavily peated refill casks which I believe acted as neutral containers with a filter, extracting all the harsh elements and heavier congeners and rendering the whisky sparkling clean and fresh after 8 years. Consequently it could be thought of as highly cask driven, but not in the usual additive manner. As you can tell, I thoroughly enjoyed this whisky and nearly bought a bottle, however I had already decided on different purchases. It was one of my equal three favourite whiskies of the night and at the price it is remarkably good value. A lot of the participants at the tasting voted for this as their favourite whisky of the night. Highly recommended. “Excellent” : 88/100 (4.5 stars)