First there was Storm. Now there is Dark Storm. It has taken me a long time to track down a dram of Dark Storm. Originally released as a TRE I understand this is a very sought after bottling. What I am very unclear on is how it is different to Storm. All I can find is that the Dark Storm uses heavily charred barrels, but that supposed to be what the Storm is; a blend of old and young finished in re-charred barrels. Hmm, perhaps then the Dark Storm is the reference to “the peatiest whisky Talker produces”. N: Straight in with the good stuff… rich, deep, and evocative. Earthy and slightly mineral undertones deliver a unfolding smoke with a hint of oiliness and a tiny touch of floral intrigue. A peppery and slightly tannic prickle is interesting and mingles with slightly sweet pear and an emergent charred BBQ ends. A storm is indeed brewing… P: Mouth coating and full with a slight oiliness that holds the palate firmly in place. Smoke is wonderfully enveloping, warm and powerful with red chilli, briny oysters, a hint of iodine or band-aids. This big entry is backed by a fruity berry sweetness, honeyed-malt, preserved lemon peel(?), and gentle tannic spice. F: Long and changing. The bonfire stays present against a briny sea spray and hits with cracked pepper to chilli heat, some toasty malt, a somewhat astringent tannic-toffee and bright fruity notes. This finish keeps on giving. It has been suggested to me that Dark Storm is a good equivalent to the 2021 8 y/o sea fury special edition. So, I opted to pull up my notes and pour a measure of the Sea Fury alongside the Dark Storm. I can agree that there is cross-over, particularly on the nose but this Dark Storm is quite different. Here the combination of heavy char imparts a toasty depth that comes across as honeyed malt and a thicker smokiness but it doesn’t broil with the same depths and power of the Sea Fury and lacks the more obvious vanillin. the Sea Fury sports a hefty almost 60% ABV, the Dark Storm comes in at the Talisker standard of 45.8% so the comparison isn’t fair from the get go. But, this Dark Storm delivers well. The lift of the sweet fruity notes, and the delicacy of the smoke in spite of its big presence is very well done. The Storm was unnecessary, it was the calm before the true (Dark) Storm. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a Sea Fury to attend to under the Dark Storms waves… Price is for 1000 ml bottle. Distiller whisky taste #258 [Pictured here with a clutch of sapphirine schists from southern Madagascar. Thats sapphirine, not sapphire. Sapphirine is much better. 560-530 million years ago Madagascar for caught up in the assembly of the Gondwanan supercontinent and the closure of the Mozambique ocean. Essentially Madagascar got smashed between India to the east and East Africa to the west. During this time some 720 million year old oceanic sediments were metamorphosed at ultra high temperatures of 800-1000 degrees C at depths of 25-35 km; the result these spectacular rocks.] Talisker running scores: T10: 4/5 T18: 4.75/5 T8 2021 Special Release: 4.5/5 Skye: 3.25/5 Port Ruighe: 2.75/3 Storm: 3.5/5 Dark Storm: 4.25/5 57 North: 4.25/5 X Parley Wilder Seas: 4.25/5