Whiskey_Hound
Talisker Distillers Edition
Single Malt — Islands, Scotland
Reviewed
August 2, 2020 (edited June 4, 2021)
This is my third different Diageo Distiller's Edition. I loved the Lagavulin, and the Oban was solid as well. This one features Amoroso sherry cask-aging, which is a first for me if I remember correctly. I've plenty of Talisker though, so I'm very interested to see what the wine-influence does to one of my all-time favorite malts.
It says it was distilled March 21, 2008, so I'm assuming that this was the 2018 edition. The Distiller's Editions were all labeled that way. On to the tasting.
Nose: Peaty and briny. Lots of sea salt, seaweed, campfire smoke, and a bit of ash. Salt water taffy and salted caramel. Iodine. Grapefruit, lemon, and black pepper. Some fruit notes. Cranberry, pineapple, apricot. Rounded off with some vanilla, honey, and toffee. Cinnamon and oak present themselves; it's not strong but the alcohol is there. Really nice combination of peat, sweet, fruit, and maritime notes. Some bitterness and citrus thrown in for good measure. Liking it a lot off the jump.
Palate: Plenty of campfire smoke and iodine. Sea sea salt, seaweed, and salt water taffy. Surprisingly rich and creamy beneath the powerful peat notes and maritime notes. Vanilla, toffee, salted caramel, butterscotch, and a rare anise biscotti note. Green apple, pear, apricot, honeydew, and golden raisin. Some ginger slices thrown in. No red pepper black bean chili that is characteristic of Talisker. But it's still fantastic, nonetheless.
Finish: Medium-long. Campfire smoke, iodine, sea salt, and seaweed, as well always. And then, there it is. True to form, I get black bean red pepper chili. Trademark Talisker. There's also a creamy note. Then grapefruit and lemon. Finally, black pepper, cinnamon, oak, and a bit more sea salt. Great finish.
I've got a major bias toward Talisker. This one, the 10, and the 18 are three of my favorite whiskies. With these three expressions, I can confidently say that Talisker is a worthy guest at the round table of Islay.
This one has every bit of smoke, peat, and medicinal influence that the finest Islay whisky could boast. Uniquely, it's heavily fruit-forward, and then at the finish, it's classic Talisker.
I love this one. Haven't had a Talisker I don't love. The amoroso adds some nice layers to an already impeccable dram. At $70, I say sign me up every time.
70.0
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Bottle
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@WhiskeyLonghorn @Whiskey_Hound That makes me feel a lot better about my unopened bottle of 18. Whew!
@ContemplativeFox @WhiskeyLonghorn I've never owned a bottle of Talisker that I didn't love, but then I've only had 4. I might be lucky--who knows? And don't even get me started on the 18. That one is sublime
@Whiskey_Hound glad you got a good one and not a dud! I’m still working through a bottle of the 18 that’s been open about ten months and so far is still holding its character. It’s an older bottling (found a dusty on a high back shelf at a hole in the wall!) and has some amazing, subtle character. Talisker was my first love in single malts, and I’ll always find my way back I’m sure.
@Whiskey_Hound Thanks for that intel. I think @WhiskeyLonghorn has probably got it regarding consistency. There's clearly a lot of potential for great whiskey from Talisker, but it's a question of whether it's worth rolling the dice. Great to know that sometimes there can be a positive reversal of fortune though!
@Soba45 Thanks man! @WhiskeyLonghorn @ContemplativeFox For what it's worth, I'm having the opposite with my 2018 bottle. Wasn't impressed with the neck, but after 6 months and half the bottle, it's hitting it's sweet spot. Batch variation must play a big role with this one
@ContemplativeFox it seems like Talisker is having a quality control problem over the last few years. I had a 10 Year from 2016 that was spectacular, but the one I bought last year was kind of flat. There must be some issue in there warehouses that Diageo is overlooking. Meanwhile we’re paying $10-15 more for lower quality product.
Great review. Even more inclined to pick one up now, but I've been hearing around a little bit stories like @WhiskeyLonghorn 's where the bottle went stale rapidly or there was inconsistency between batches.
Nice review. This one was likely the best neck pour Ive ever had. My only gripe about this bottle was that after it was open for about four or five months it started to develop this weird, highly unpleasant sulphuric note. I blended in a little Talisker 10 to balance it out, bit the bottle was never quite the same.
Nice review. Yup one of if not my favourite distilleries!