This is now my fourth Talisker. Hot off the heels of the 10, 2021 Special Edition 8 “Sea Fury”, and the 18; I only have expectations of further wonderment from within this little 30 ml tasting bottle. At this point in my whisky education/journey I am a firm fan of the Scottish Isles and Skye’s tempestuous offerings are no exceptions. The consistent theme of depth and brine take me to a place of an old lighthouse keeper watching the waves batter the coast. Named after the latitudinal location of the distillery, Talisker 57° North is a no-age-statement single malt that was released in 2008, initially as a travel exclusive, but has been discontinued. Despite knowing I will never likely drink this again, I was none the less excited at the opportunity. N: I was expecting a stormy smack, but to my surprise this is calm, soft, and warming. Undeniably rich though, there is some sweetness like a caramel biscuit (think Biscoff). The slightest chocolate, honey, and a fresh muddled peppermint herbal note. Of course, there is the Talisker brine with slightly mineralic ashy cured meat smoke. A vaguely fresh oyster maritime smell wafts through. P: Oh, interesting and unexpected again. Like a thin syrup the arrival is coating and powerful. Sweetness, salivating sweetness of gooey creamy caramel turns to peppery-chilli peat that absolutely explodes with layers of buttery popcorn and possibly some apple/pear juice. Everything is vibrant and fills the palate completely. F: Medium-long. Surprisingly fresh with a menthol like cleansing, a light brine and maybe candied lemon vibrancy. A few drops of water stretches things out, brings maltiness a little forwards and accentuates the chilli. Nothing really added, nothing taken away. This is powerful stuff. No surprises, it is a Talisker. It is surprisingly juicy and moreish, but it’s also simple. There are layers but they are the same layers I have found in the other three Taliskers I have tasted on here. Those layers are clean, clear, and sharply defined, but; I feel here there is a lack of uniqueness perhaps. I thought the 57% ABV would unlock something new. Whilst I find elements of the T18 and Sea Fury 8 on the nose this is not as distinct as either (but wonderful all the same). Where the palate of the 18 has orange peel and chocolate, the Sea Fury 8 and 10 have bacon, baking chocolate and earthy minerality. Overall I enjoyed this, it is “better” than the 10, slightly more refined, but not as special as other Taliskers for the same price point. [Pictured with a rather sizeable lump of the Campo Del Cielo nickel-iron meteorite from ~1000 km northwest of Buenos Aires, Argentina. This is a fragment of a meteorite that impacted 4000-5000 years ago and covered an area of 3x19 km and yielded 100 tonnes of material to date. Given that these can’t be “produced” anymore (illegal to remove from Argentina) I thought this rock was appropriate for a discontinued travel retail whisky] Distiller whisky tasting #111