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Talisker Dark Storm

Dark Storm on a Friday Afternoon

3 486

@talexanderReview by @talexander

9th Jun 2017

1

Talisker Dark Storm
  • Nose
    22
  • Taste
    23
  • Finish
    20
  • Balance
    21
  • Overall
    86

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Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

I'm working from home on a Friday afternoon, so thought I'd take a break for a little review. I'm on the last heel of a 1L bottle of Talisker Dark Storm, purchased at auction some months ago but otherwise only available at duty free. I presume that this is basically Talisker Storm (both are NAS) matured in heavily charred casks. I have a bottle of Talisker 10 Year Old as well, so let's try them side-by-side.

The colour is a medium amber. On the nose, it's like standard Talisker but upped a few notches: big oak, black liquorice, freshly ground black pepper, prunes, mint, cayenne and dark chocolate. Cumin, brine and pretty intense peat smoke - seems smokier than other Taliskers I've had. Lemon curd. Maltier and spicier with water. Not subtle, but then again what would you expect from a Talisker called Dark Storm?

Creamy on the palate, with hot spices, chunky oak and lots of peat. Baked apples with cinnamon (and more cumin). Woody hickory. Very salty of course, with more of that classic liquorice note. Here you also notice more of the vanilla/caramel from the bourbon casks. Water makes the malt oilier and brings out the char - is this from Tennessee??

The finish is surprisingly gentle - too gentle, with a bit of oak, pepper and liquorice, and not much else. If Talisker 10 got picked up at a bar by Jack Daniel's, whisked away to Islay and got knocked up on the malting floor at Lagavulin, the bastard baby would be this: Oaky, smoky and oily with liquorice, malt and big fat bourbon notes. I like this a lot - but still, it's no Talisker 10. Speaking of which, how do they compare? Side by side, the Dark Storm has more power and wood, but I prefer the 10's (relative) subtlety and fruitier notes. Regardless, if you are a Talisker fan, this is worth picking up and giving it a try (and it's much better than the standard Storm).

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4 comments

@Ol_Jas
Ol_Jas commented

Between the 10 getting knocked up and the Dark Storm having "more power and wood," I rate this review PG-13.

7 years ago 3Who liked this?

@Hewie
Hewie commented

Nice review. I've not tried any of the Talisker NAS offerings yet but I've wondered how they stack up alongside the original 10. General consensus appears to be that they're ok but that it's hard to beat the standard 10. Good for a change up aye.

7 years ago 0

@talexander
talexander commented

@Hewie I didn't like the Storm much but I did like the Skye (softer and gentler than the 10, but pretty complex) and the Port Ruighe.

7 years ago 0

@casualtorture
casualtorture commented

I have open bottles of the 10 and the 57North and both are very good. But yeah its hard to beat the 10yo.

7 years ago 0