dhsilv2
Talisker 25 year old (2005 special release)
Single Malt — Skye, Scotland
Reviewed
May 6, 2020 (edited October 10, 2022)
What is a 5 whisky to me? A 5 is something that flat out changes your perceptions not about whisky, but brings happiness to you that you that your 18 year old self couldn't have imagined a beverage doing. It can't just be a moment of bliss, but it has to linger and last, changing, dare I say it must have not one crescendo but it must peak over and over again while you savor it. it isn't that it is "perfect" but that the moment you're having with it is and that it can be repeated.
I had the great pleasure of getting 3 pours over the course of a bottle's life of a 2004 edition. The first pour was aggressive, assertive, and powerful. The second was fruity, complex, lively. The final one seemed older and as if with time it had become something more influential in the glass. While I generally don't review whiskies I don't have a bottle of or at least an hour plus with a fairly healthy sample, I can assure you that was a 5 every time I had it.
Today I have the blissful opportunity to share with you my thoughts on a fresh bottle pour of a 2005 edition I recently acquired.
Nose - there is an almost fresh and clean element here. Fruity, tropical fruits all over, reminding me perhaps a bit of a tropical fruit skittles candy. The aged by sea idea is in full force as you almost can smell the sea breeze in all of this fresh and lightly salty, briney goodness. Grape fruits and pineapples and just this wonderful mix of sweetness.
Water teases out some oak tannin pushes out more of the salty brine notes and is now giving me a very distinct vanilla note I wasn't getting before.
Taste - The talisker spicy profile is here in full force as this is truly a journey of experiences and flavors. The sweet skittle like note is here upfront, balances with sea salt and brine. Then you start down this path of light peat notes, sea salt, spice, and a vanilla and fruit fused transition. It's like riding down a perfectly smooth road of flavors waiting for the next turn. Of course that turn brings us to this amazing finish where the fruits get a bit darker (more orchard like, though I'm not sure I get say apples), the oak comes out and gives this an almost chewy finish almost making me think I'm about to chew on something like a tootsie roll. While I'm not sure I'd go to chocolate there is a dark sweetness from the oak that is very familiar and incredibly inviting.
Water much like in the nose is bringing out a bit more salty character, if one were a bit disappointed with the fruity and sweet notes, this pushes it back a touch and brings forward a bit more of the island heart.
This is a whisky I plan to have a very long time and it'll be one I go to in celebration of great moments. This is happiness in a glass folks. This is the kind of dram that us geeks spend years and countless dollars chasing in hopes of finding that special moment with a glass where the whisky just takes us places.
Well guys, I need to end this review because frankly, this whisky is too good to allow myself this distraction from it.
Quick ending note - the 45% version that's out today IMHO is utter garbage in contrast to these CS versions. It honestly doesn't taste anything like this. Today's 30's while better than the 25 by a margin are still nothing remotely close to this. Make no mistake the whisky was simply better in the past.
550.0
USD
per
Bottle
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@dhsilv2 I would settle for the S2000 of this
I should clarify that i don't hate the core talisker range, but to compare them to this is dimissive of what this really is. But yeah, the 30 year is if you can find it for 300 (ace had it for such a price) is great. The 25 at 250 which can still be had on ace is fine but underwhelming. The 18 imo is a bit too spicey and it's gotten expensive at 175 many places. if one is a fan of the DE's which are finished, I'm not sure I'd stick with talisker. But I'm not sure where else I'd go either. Thus I didn't have something readily avialable.
Agree. While seeing a five star review from @dhsilv2 is like seeing a unicorn (lovely writeup by the way. Had to stop myself from spending $600 on this when I read it!), the Talisker core range has been an important milestone in my whisky journey. The Talisker 10 was the first single malt I ever bought and remains a staple in my cabinet, price hike and all. The Talisker 18 was a gift for my 30th birthday and I try to save it for special occasions. It’s a lovely dram with coffee and butterscotch notes for the patient drinker.
@Jan-Kaselitz The 10 year is a classic and I enjoyed the 8 year CS special release
@Jan-Kaselitz Personally I wouldn't dismiss core range Talisker so quickly. The 10 year is a consistently good dram and Serge (Whiskyfun) and Ralfy have both been complimentary about recent 18 year expressions. Google their reviews.
@dhsilv2 that’s too bad. My dad really likes some Taliskers (the Distillers Edition was what he liked the most) so I thought treating him to something from their range for his birthday. But 600 to 700 Euro (that’s what I found this 25y 2005 batch for) just isn’t realistic at all. Well, the search goes on.
Think of this as an NSX in the current Honda lineup. Sure you might notice they reused a few parts, it's reliable for what it is...but it's a super car and they're pushing an Accord in it's place now. Only they want 2x for the accord to make the analogy work.
@Jan-Kaselitz I've not had anything in their core at all like this. There current offerings aren't really worth of discussion with something like this. They're a brand who's lost their way and simply isn't at this level of quality anymore from what I've had. They might have some one offs or disitllery releases perhaps that compare, but you can't compare the current 18, 25, or 30 to this. They're just far too inferior a product.
@dhsilv2 if you had to, which Talisker(s) come the closest to this one?
@Soba45 yeah the 25 of today would be something along the lines of a 3.0 and the 30 perhaps a 3.75. Plus or minus a quarter star. I do'nt know what was happening in the late 70's and early 80's with talisker but they need to bring back that magic.
@dhsilv2 It’s a rare thing for you to give a 5 star. One has to take note, and put on their “must try “ list
Ah when I saw that I was like hmm the 25 didn't blow me away the times I've had it (and once was terrible) but then I saw its the CS you were reviewing which sounds like a whole different beast. I didn't even know it existed until your review. The only CS (or close to) Taliskers I've had are the North and 8 yr old style special release. The former was quite nice the later really good