Talisker 30 Year Old bottled 2021
Enchanting Middle Finger
8 992
Review by @markjedi1
The new Talisker 30 Year Old, which was launched this year in a limited edition of 3,216 bottles, was bottled at cask strength. I'm a bit surprised that this is only 48.5%. But I am even more surprised with the painful price tag: more than 1,000 euros! Three years ago I bought a Talisker 30 for less than half that! In fact, for this money I can buy 3 or 4 bottles of the excellent 25-year-old. Admittedly, I will not get a fancy box (sarcasm, anyone?). Anyway, let's leave the opulent packaging and the horrible price tag for what it is and check the liquid on its own merits. This had better be good.
The nose is very subdued and elegant and a textbook example of what Talisker should be. Maritime notes, citrus fruit, pepper, delicate smoke. Wet wood, orange peels, a soft sea breeze and fishing nets. Shells on the beach. An oyster on a slate. Enchantingly delicious nose.
The onset is mild, but certainly not weak despite the modest cask strength. Nice and oily, bittersweet on lemon and grapefruit with a tropical hint left and right, before a soft salty touch completely wraps the taste buds. A nice tantalum of wood spices, delicate smoke that warms your mouth and proves again that this is a very elegant Talisker.
The Finish balances perfectly between salty maritime elements and the beautiful, almost tropical sweet fruit. This is Enjoyment with a capital E.
In my introduction I wrote: This had better be good. It's not good, it's excellent, it's enchantingly delicious. But completely overpriced, obviously. It seems as if Diageo no longer wants to have this stuff tasted, but only wants it to be locked up in underground bunkers with 8-digit locks by the less ordinary mortals who do not know what to do with their money. They raise their middle finger to the real whisky lover. What a pity.
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Facts. Great review.