58,8°
Distillery : Talisker - Islands
2d Fill Bourbon Casks
Original Bottling
Limited Edition
Single Malt
Bottled in 2003
Unchillfiltered, Cask Strength
Peated around 22 ppm
A little piece of history with this Talisker, distilled in 1982 and bottled in 2003. Part of the 3rd batch of Diageo Special Releases, it is 20 years old, as was the previous batch, from 2002, which was also 20 years old. The other batches, in 2001 and then from 2004 to 2009, are all 25 Years Old, to which we must add the five 30 Years Old released between 2006 and 2010. After that, there's a 35-year-old from 2012, and a 27-year-old in 2013, then nothing more until 2018, when younger bottlings will be on offer, 8-year-olds, 11-year-olds, 15-year-olds in 2019, and even a NAS this year. That makes a total of 16 bottlings aged between 20 and 35 years launched between 2001 and 2013 as part of Diageo Special Releases, and all of them are sublime. This one is no exception, aged in Refill casks to allow the distillate to express itself fully, produced in 12,000 copies. Those were the glory days of Talisker. However, the Whisky Exchange website states that it is coloured, which would not be surprising for the era. But don't worry, this has no influence on the taste.
Let's Taste It :
Airy iodine, enhanced by sleet and coarse sea salt. Woody vanilla, cinnamon leaf, almond paste. Sharpening leather, ointment. Foie gras fat. A zest of lemon. Smoke shade. Medicinal touch. Warm on the palate, lychees and other exotic fruits, rosewater, it's syrupy, but very quickly the spices take over, a touch of lemon, nutmeg, cumin, pepper. Very fine balance after a while. The finish is very long, unusually powerful, but controlled, taking you far away: hazelnuts, biscuits, notes of exotic fruits, banana, passion fruit, breadcrumbs. Cotton.
In Short,
What more is there to say? This is the kind of whisky that speaks for itself. You savour it in silence, in pious contemplation. If you have the means and the opportunity to get your hands on such a treasure, don't hesitate for a second. I'd advise you to look for it on auction sites, because on online sales sites, the price is completely insane.
Score : 91
To Be Listened While Sipping :
Palace - Heaven Up There
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