It’s a Wednesday, so that’s a great day for another good Talisker single malt. This time it’s a very affordable, NAS that’s finished in port wood. I picked this up with an overseas order for $58. It’s rose gold with lots of thin legs and big, watery drops in your Glencairn. It’s also bottled at the signature Talisker ABV of 45.8%. I’m pretty sure it’s natural color, but it may be chill filtered. The nose was sweet and salty right out of the gate. Delicious notes of red, ripe raspberries and smooth vanilla danced around the glass (and eventually the room). There was a nice hint of sliced, green apples floating there, too. The oak came into play if you let it sit longer and it actually added a bit of an unwelcome harshness. I would recommend just letting this one sit less than 10 minutes and going in for the sip. It’s NAS anyway, so we’re surely dealing with young juice. The palate just sings Talisker at the front: meaty, bacon wrapped raspberries fresh off the grill (read that again slowly because that was my initial comparison each and every time the liquid touched my lips and tongue on successive sips). Heavier than expected smoke crept in and masked the sweetness, but accentuated the salty bits that signifies Talisker to a T. The harshness finally arrived late in the sip like a bartender announcing last call and the burn from the ABV is like the moment the lights come on at closing time. It doesn’t wreck the evening, but it’s telling you to wrap things up. I actually diluted several pours of this and those harsh and abrasive characteristics faded away- so, against my usual stance- I recommend a little water with this one. It works wonders for the palate. Trust me. The finish (without water) is warm, salt-heavy and sadly is absent almost all of the port flavors. It’s just a normal Talisker (still never a bad thing). With the above mentioned water dilution you will get some lingering sweetness. It does shorten the overall length, but again, I think it helps overall. So, in summation, this is a pretty enjoyable NAS Talisker. The port finishing doesn’t consume the entire experience, which is a plus, but that said I would’ve liked a little more sweetness without having to dilute it with water. The only way I think that could’ve been accomplished would be by extending the finishing time or using older, Talisker base whisky- both of which would’ve driven up the cost. For what it is- it’s a fine twist to the Talisker line and worth the asking price. Buy with confidence. 3.75-4 stars. Cheers, my friends.