Talisker 10 Year Old

Talisker is the (for now) only distillery on the isle of Skye and went into production in 1830. In 1925 it became part of Distillers Company, the current Diageo.

The distillery was destroyed by fire in the sixties and has been rebuild completely. The five stills were copied indentically in an attempt to preserve the Talisker flavours.

The core range consists of a 10 years old, an 18 years old expression, a 57° North with an ABV of 57%, a NAS Storm and a duty free exclusive Dark Storm. In 2013 Diageo released a Triple Matured and an exclusive 27 year old 1985 Talisker.

Tasting notes

Color: the ten year old Talisker has the colour of antique copper pans that were recently cleaned and polished. The whisky's texture is oily. After swirling, tears slowly slide down.

Nose: The first nose is distinctly smoky. Smoked halibut and charcoal grilled salmon. Black pepper out of the mortar. After a while it sweetens a bit. Bassett's liquorice candy and Dutch drops. Once in a while I'm noticing some wood-stain.

Taste: The smoky rock & roll continues. Fish oil, grounded pepper and fleur de sel. It evolves towards something sour and briny. And again liquorice and drops.

When nipping some water between two sips of whisky, you'll enhance the flavours of this Talisker.

Finish: Quite short. Especially the pepper lingers with a hint of honey.

Conclusion: This Talisker is probably the prototype of an island whisky. Distinct smokiness and typical flavour associations like brine, liquorice, smoked fish and wood-stain.

It's not a bad whisky, far from it. But it's not "my cup of tea". I'll enjoy it for one dram, and one dram only. But as always, judge for yourself. Do not let anyone else judge for you. Talisker 10 is part of the Classic Malt series from Diageo. He is widely marketed and can be found in supermarkets for € 35.

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