Flashback to the hotel room whisky share prior to Whiskyfest DC, my buddy @Generously_Paul brought ample pours of this newer NAS from Talisker: 57 degrees North. This is essentially a cask strength version of their other non-age statement offerings. The age of the juice is estimated to be 6-8 years old and the name not only indicates the ABV but also the latitudinal location of the distillery itself. Kinda cool. The color is a rich gold and there’s a few thick legs that’ll snake down the tasting glass when you give it a solid spin. The nose is typical Talisker: smoke, peat, pepper and BBQ. The saltiness provided a stiff backbone and I got what seemed like a stiff hit of mint each time I put it to my nose. I think this minty freshness could be attributed more to the extra ABV than any other factor. The palate starts you off with a strong punch from the alcohol, but then the pepper and thick Talisker smoke take hold before releasing some thin citrus notes and an odd syrupy sweetness. The harsh aspect of the young sauce also wrecks the overall mouthfeel, as well. The finish is incredibly harsh and hot. I don’t like adding water to anything I drink, especially when I only have a single pour to rate with. If I have the entire bottle to play with I may do some experimental pours and blending, but I mostly like to drink them the way the distillery intended. More smoky aspects remain behind on the finish, which was delightfully medium-long. There were some roasted nut flavors left behind long after you finish the dram. This one was tougher to enjoy than I truly expected. I love Talisker almost as much as I love Laphroaig, but this one was a bit of a failure. It’s too harsh and gets manhandled by the pepper notes. Maybe 57% is too much for their juice to handle, but they wanted a semi-cask strength offering to compete with everyone else, but this one isn’t a high quality example IMHO. 3-3.25 stars because it’s still nice and smoky, but ultimately I don’t think I’d buy a bottle of this one. Cheers.