48,2°
Distillery : Talisker - Islands
South African Atlantic Coast Red Wine Finish
Original Bottling
Limited Edition
Single Malt
Bottled in 2025
Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured
Peated around 22 ppm
Two years earlier, the distillery had launched Wilder Seas, a bottling in aid of the NGO Parley. I’m talking about it here. Apparently, it went down a treat, because these good people did it again and launched this one last year, in aid of another charity, the Blue Marine Foundation, whose mission is to clean up the oceans. For every bottle sold, £3 will be donated to the charity. And as there are 37,536 bottles, that makes £112,608 that they have pledged to donate – a tidy sum. What’s more, the glass used is 100% recycled, and there is no box to limit the carbon footprint. As Wilder Seas was finished in Cognac, a special finish had to be found for this one too, and that turned out to be South African red wine from the Atlantic coast. The finish lasted exactly 16 months. I haven’t been able to find any information at all about the initial maturation, but I assume it was simply in Bourbon casks.
Let's Taste It :
Sticky fruit, juicy quinces and apricots, grenadine, balanced by the influence of a few bourbon casks, wood steeped in citrus, kumquat, green tomatoes, tannins. Dusty peat, grains of charcoal, basalt, discreet coastal notes. Intense iodine, unrefined salt. On the palate, golden honey, banana, mirabelle plums, buttery vanilla, pronounced spices, cumin, nutmeg. A subtle layer of peat, dates, raisins. A slight bitterness on the finish, green asparagus, olives, cola, hints of charcoal, varnished bark, hazelnuts, cauliflower, a touch of cereal.
In Short,
It’s a high-quality bottling, though the influence of the red wine isn’t entirely positive. I found that it masked the Talisker profile somewhat, particularly its coastal character. In my opinion, a white wine finish might have been a better idea. But perhaps that’s what they’ll do with the next edition. As for the price, I think it’s perfectly reasonable.
In Short : 87
To Be Listened While Sipping :
Flea featuring Nick Cave - Wichita Lineman
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