I touched on this in my review of Barrell Seagrass, but I opened this bottle of Talisker Distiller's Edition the week prior to the Seagrass opening, and my first reaction to the Talisker, unlike the Seagrass, was, "Why do I ever drink anything else?" There are some whiskies where I wish Yankee Candle did a tie-in where I could buy a Talisker Distiller's Edition scented candle and burn it whenever I needed a little pick me up, whenever I was in a bad mood and needed a reason to smile. Other whiskies that spring to mind are the Dalwhinnie Game of Thrones edition where, even though the palate and finish were nothing to write home about, the nose was floral and honied in a way I've never encountered in another whisky. The Laphroaig Cairdeas of last year, finished in PX casks, was also one of those wish-I-had-a-candle-like-this noses. And the Laphroaig Cairdeas PX was the closest comparison I have for the Talisker Distiller's Edition. Both Islay and heavy with the peat and then finished in sherry casks. The main difference, of course, is the Cairdeas was 117 proof and this is 92. Also, this is my first Talisker. Up until tasting this I was a Talisker virgin. My love of Islay had mostly arisen from Ardbeg and Laprhoaig. I'd had the Lagavulin Distiller's Edition, which was also excellent (also my first Lagavulin; I still haven't had the regular 16) and the Kilchoman Machir Bay Cask Strength (also delightful and a really different beast for an Islay than anything else I'd had). But I'd never had Talisker. Now this year I've purchased a bottle of the 10 and a bottle of the Dark Storm (on clearance, $30 off), but I decided, having those two and this Distiller's Edition, to open the Distiller's Edition first. The allure is the sherry finish. I got the feeling that even though this is finished in Amoroso sherry and the Cairdeas was finishing in PX, that the profiles would be similar, and I'm not at all disappointed. The nose here has the peat smoke and fruitiness that comes with combining the two along with a nice undercurrent of toffee. There's a slight earthiness to it that's nice because it's just a trace and all the elements feel well balanced. Once it hits the tongue you get the sea salt along with peat and strawberry taffy, and it's just lovely. The finish is medium in length and allows the smoke, peat, and strawberry flavors to linger so that you want to just sip and sip. Like I've said, "Why do I ever drink anything else?" I also have a bottle of the Laphroaig 10 Sherry Finished that I haven't opened yet, and I'm kind of curious as to how it compares to the Talisker Distiller's Edition, but I just purchased this year's Larphaoig Cairdeas Warehouse 1, so that's likely on tap this weekend. I've seen around that the feeling on this year's Carideas is mixed but that might be a good thing, temper expectations, make me pleasantly surprised. My brother-in-law is joining us for the Eagle-Cardinals game and he loves Islay, particularly Talikser, so I think the lineup is going to be as follows (but don't tell him; he likes when I surprise him with a bunch of good whiskies in a row): 1. Laphroaig Warehouse 1; 2. Talisker Distiller's Edition; 3. Nikka from the Barrel (I feel like it's got some maritime notes that might be fun to compare with the Talisker); 4. Barrell Seagrass (which will be my "now for something completely different" pick; we'll give it another shot; I was lukewarm last week, but it might be a grower). It's gonna be a fun one!