Talisker Set... not the same 10?

@goldfilm some time ago I purchased the "Classic Malt Trio" (a 200ml of Talisker 10, Caol Ila 12, and Lagavulin 16) ...Long story short - I'm not sure if it was a "bad" bottling of the Talisker 10, or back then if my "taste" wasn't up for what that particular malt had to offer.

A few months ago I wanted to give it a 2nd chance, and purchased the Talisker 10 (750 ml bottle), and found it quite enjoyable; again - maybe bottling/quality issues, or possibly my tastes are changing?

I have heard of recent concerns (going on apparently these past few years) of the quality dropping with the 10yr expression - however I've only been enjoying that particular malt in the past several weeks so I really cannot comment any further considering my lack of experience with it.

I also thought about my taste evolving because I enjoyed the other two bottles, but this bottle has nothing from Talisker, it's sweet and burns like pure alcohol... very weird. I'll call the store to see what they say... and I don't mind taking the bottle to the store. They'll know right away...

@goldfilm, the Talisker 10 I have had from about 7 different bottles might as well have been 7 different whiskies. I consider there to be very great batch variation in Talisker 10 yo. Also I have found that this is a whisky that changes quite a lot with oxidation as well.

I got a set of the 200 mL Diageo bottles once (not Talisker), and noticed that the corks were pretty loose (not leaking, but not tight either). If yours was sitting around for several years I guess that some oxidation could have occurred from lose cork (if yours is lose).

The bottle was sealed. I opened it and right away it was like drinking a Red Label opened for three years... or a delicious Listerine :) Very weird...

The soap opera ended as expected: I gave the bottle to a specialist to taste it and he said it was perfect. So it was definitely my memory :)

Im living something like that with mi bottle of Talisker 10,i opened it about 10 months ago,i was very disappointed after tasting it,i did have so much expectation for it.Then many months after i take the bottle from all the back of my cabinet,pour a glass and then wait for 20 minutes so i take the glass and wooow it s not what i have taste the last time,its bigger smokier end great.I think taht this whisky need a minimum of oxydation time to really open!!!SLAINTE!!!!

@maltymatt, @goldfilm, Talisker 10 for me has shown more variation in 7 or so bottles I've tried than perhaps any other whisky. I have no set expectation for it at this point, at all. My current large bottle improved radically after about 7 months open when the honey burst forth and the pepper subsided a bit. In my relatively short experience with Talisker 10 I find it to be a whisky of extreme variability.

@Victor That's totally true. I also remember that the first time I tried it it was much more medicinal, like a Laphroaig. But I also believe that taste memory change with the time, and since I got into the single malts a year and a half ago my taste has been evolving, accepting more "peatiness" and less sweetness.