I’m going outside my one dram / week by having this special 25 yr Talisker tonight. My birthday, so with every passing year it’s a celebration to be alive, with a great family and a relatively decent life. I’ve made it a point to have a top shelf whisky every birthday; as we get older it’s due time to reflect on all the things for which to be thankful. This one comes courtesy of @LeeEvolved. A quarter century Talisker, about as top shelf as you can get. I think this is the 2015 version. The nose is impressive: salted caramels, some brine. Actually...I’m getting mostly all salted caramels, can’t ask for a better nose. Taste takes the salted caramels down a notch, and the brine comes out more. It’s much more elegant and refined version of the 10, and even the 18 for that matter. Truthfully I expected more elegance. My benchmark for the two over 20 yr olds has been the Hibiki 21 and Macallan 25. Both had that silkiness that this lacked. But, I’m nitpicking at this point. Still a damn good dram.