cascode
Talisker 25 Year
Single Malt — Islands, Scotland
Reviewed
September 6, 2019 (edited April 9, 2022)
Nose: Light citrus zest and juice, blended with the gentlest possible aromatic herbal tobacco. Faint brine dances about, but it's way in the background and the breeze that carries it also bears honeysuckle, strawberry jam, tangerine, ripe peach, vanilla blossom, lilac and rose petal. After resting and developing for 20 minutes the nose gains considerable heft and takes on a leathery quality, but the initial light smoked-fruit character perseveres. Later still, a more energetic tobacco note evolves and after 40 minutes of resting in the glass this whisky is still evolving and expanding. The smoke element on the nose of this dram is of a completely different quality and class than that evinced by any other smoky whisky. C'est formidable.
Palate: Masterful. Complex yet simple with waves, layers and whorls of coiling expression. The arrival and development are so closely entwined it's impossible to extricate the components. Mild peat smoke, honey, plums, berries of all description, barley sugar, marzipan, the faintest tinge of pepper and sweet chili, leathery richness, candied hazelnuts, pontefract cake, squill candy, honey jumbles, tea cake, the sweetest of red apples, smoked herring, smoked salmon, caramel ... that just scratches the surface. The signature Talisker chili "catch" is still there, but now it's a slow-burn glow that evolves in the late palate to fill the senses with a warmth like a sunny afternoon.
Finish: Long. Exceptionally elegant and fruity, faintly smoky, and delightfully savory, the sum total of the palate experience gently and elegantly waltzes into the gloaming.
An impeccable whisky. Seamlessly fashioned, seductive, magnificently textured - the integration and balance is a thing of beauty that brings tears to the eyes - it must be tasted to be believed. It's not cheap, but it is worth every cent. This is a desert island dram.
"Outstanding" : 90/100 (5 stars)
500.0
AUD
per
Bottle
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Great review. A complex simplicity as you described makes the need for me to seek a pour. Not sure I can afford a bottle (just yet, hopefully)
@cascode Yeah I find generally Whisky is a bit cheaper here than Aus. I think it's because we allow parallel imports so if anything is cheaper in another market they import it from there rather than from official suppliers. We often get made for USA 750ml bottles.
@Soba45 Wow, that’s an excellent price.
@cascode - time to order a couple of these from MoM. Buy of the century! Great review!
@cascode Hmm actually I just double checked. I can get it for around $350Aus here so not that special:-)
@cascode Wow that is good. Would just be a bit nervous it's cheap because it's the crap release though!
@Soba45 If you decide to buy a bottle I just saw that Vintage Direct in Oz has it on special for $400 - might be worth a visit when in Melbourne?
@PBMichiganWolverine I'm determined to get to the bottom of whether it's batch or me or both. To that end I've got hold of yet another sample so this will hopefully be the decider.
@cascode that’s interesting. I think my bottle is from 2016 or so. I do have a 2009 30yr old...hopefully that lives up to expectations
Excellent review. This takes me right back to when I opened my bottle and drank through it in a couple of months. Each successive sip got better than the previous one. I could live off of this one, for sure.
@PBMichiganWolverine Something else I just found out - before 2011 this was a variable cask strength expression, but from 2011 onwards it has been at a standard 45.8% abv. That might account for some of the variation in reviews.
@PBMichiganWolverine Maybe, I don't know - I've had this bottle a while and it's the only one I've ever bought. I just checked the code and it's L22xxCM000 (I can't make out the 4th and 5th numbers). That means it's a late 2012 bottling, which is when I bought it. I'f I'd known it was this good I'd have opened it ages ago :-)
This one seems to cut both ways. Either it’s a 5 star, or underwhelming. I’m guessing the batch differences must be huge