Talisker 15 Year (2019 Special Release)

So far these special releases are going down a treat. That probably shouldn’t come as a surprise, Talisker is a force to be reckoned with. But, I have read some reviews that throw a lot of flak at the yearly specials. I haven’t felt that way yet. Hopefully with a relatively old entry for 2019 I am in for a treat. N: Powerful smack of toasty malt, a hint of dry oatyness (like the inside of a porridge bag) and gentle caramel. As the dram unfolds there is a bit of ethanol prickle, but its joined by a strong black pepper that masks the high proof cleverly. Smoke is something of a whisper, a peaty antiseptic presence and a musty vegetal feel. Maybe some marzipan is trying to push its way in too. P: Ooph, that hits hard. The entry is laced with red chilli and black pepper. Get through that and you realise there is a slightly abrasive but full bodied oiliness to this palate. Quite confronting. Maritime influence emerges with plenty of salt, tannic wood and a medley of fruits: raisin, peach, desiccated orange rind (the kind you decorate cocktails with). Vanillin is here, but it is subtle and maybe accompanied by a dark cherry. F: Long, licks of astringent smoke, salt spray, touch of minerality and a long chilli presence. Beautiful cloudy with a few drops of water (I assumed this would have been chill filtered?). The nose remains forceful and maybe turns a little sour with more mustiness, like overripe fruit or wet leaf litter. The palate isn’t too much changed but the salt is amped up and an ashiness is added to the texture. The finish is all about the ashes of a bonfire and chilli. This is not a normal Talisker. The chilli catch, the salinity are present as always, but they are aggressive. Seemingly untempered by the additional years. The nose is most surprising led by the malt more prominently than I have grown used to in Talisker and evolving into something altogether unexpected with damp mulch and sour vibes. I wouldn’t call this a treat, and I am disappointed it didn’t wow me. It’s an interesting side step for Talisker and clearly charts new ground for the profile. Commendable for going outside the box. In an odd way I’d liken this to Metallica. You know and love Master of Puppets, Ride the Lightning and Black Album are right there alongside it. Then you wait for something just as good and you get Hardwired to Self Destruct. It’s not bad, but it feels different. It’s something a little bit new, and thats a bit jarring; but i’m not going to change the station, and I am going to enjoy the rest of this dram. Distiller whisky taste #261 [Pictured here with an emerald biotite schist. I don’t know where this came from and don’t know how old it is or where it went to school or now works. But, the rather lovely development of a schistose fabric (the layers of the black biotite) tell me that this emerald schist was formed from metasomatic (fancy rock word for chemical transfer driven by hot fluids) overprinting of a rock that formed from the high grade metamorphism of a mud] Talisker running scores: T10: 4/5 T18: 4.75/5 Skye: 3.25/5 Port Ruighe: 2.75/3 Storm: 3.5/5 Dark Storm: 4.25/5 Surge: 4/5 57 North: 4.25/5 X Parley Wilder Seas: 4.25/5 T8 2018 Special Release: 4.5/5 T15 2019 Special Release: 3.5/5 T8 2021 Special Release: 4.5/5

In 2019, Talisker released a special Diageo expression, bottled at a nice 57.3% abv and with some strange looking plants drawed in the label. This is part of the Diageo anual special releases. I was eager to try it, so i managed to get a couple of samples. Lets see how it went: On the nose, Sawdust with smoke. Pineapple. Detergent. Slight coconut. Milk chocolate. Prunes. Wet herbal swamp notes. Almonds. Vanilla in a rainforest. Silicone. Vanilla custard. It is not your typical talisker full of sea profiles, this one is rather "swampy". After a first sip it gave me humid notes, pond; Meringue and Old oranges. Plastic, and artificial citrusness. The palate was nice. Vanilla. Pineapple heart. Boom!! a pepper bomb; Chilli. Wasabi. After the first sip it became maritime: Orange, Pepper. Sawdust and Sea salt. There is this meringue note everywhere. Some sea saltiness at the third sip. Aftertaste was Sweet and spicy. Crazy dips. Its like sugar debris that turn into meringue with ashes. Salt and Pepper. Talisker peat with a hint of hay and chocolate. A third sip gave me a beautiful creamy vanilla mixed with aromatic smoke. This third sip was quite amazing. Sawdust. Overall, this is, as most taliskers, a beautiful dram. You dont even feel the alcohol and it is 57.3%abv. Having said that, it felt different than the normal profile, as i said before, it was more swampy or rainforest like. Nice whisky, cool experience, my score for it is 89 over 100.

The nose starts with a mix of smoldering campfire next to the ocean with creamy orchard fruit then freshly roasted espresso beans and cocoa powder followed by lychee, peaches and apricots that transitions to vanilla Bundt cake, ocean waves crashing over seaside rocks, ginger and gauze bandage roll with high ethanol burn. The taste is a rich mouthfeel starting with a mix of smoldering campfire next to the ocean with creamy orchard fruit then a spicy mocha topped with whipped cream followed by lychee, caramelized brown sugar coated peaches and ruby red grapefruit that transitions to vanilla gelato, ocean waves crashing over seaside rocks, candied ginger, leather and driftwood with high ethanol burn. The finish is long with moderate campfire ash, sea salt, chocolate covered espresso beans, cavern minerality, ginger snap cookies, baked orange and ruby red grapefruit. This was a fun one to break down during the winter storm we're getting here in Virginia with a mild peat smoke that underpins big and bold fruits along with some earthy spices, coffee and chocolate that are expertly balanced. A really great special release from Diageo that still seems to be readily available today.

The nose is very maritime, like a sea spray and maybe some seaweed, mixed with quite bright citrus and some vanilla. I might have been hallucinating but I could swear I smelled some dark roasted coffee beans as well. The peat is there but quite muted. The taste initially punches you in the mouth with the high ABV then turns briny and sort of citrus and lemon zest in character with the freshly charred oak hogsheads showing up and gradually fades into the peat that is rounding it of. The aftertaste is long and pleasant. Opened up a lot with about a teaspoon of water to 4 cl pour, much more fruit and sweetness shows up on the taste and the nose becomes more lemon and citrus. This is potent whisky presented at cask strength, matured in freshly charred American oak hogsheads. It is a Talisker for sure but not at all what I am familiar with in the regular 10 year old!

And now for something completely different: a fruity Talisker. Peaches, blood orange and grapefruit squeeze their way into the profile of this satisfyingly oily dram, dramatically so when diluted to 50%. The peaches interplay with the classic Talisker sea spray on the nose and burst out of their tin on the palate, where the fruit mingles with a powerful peat. The finish sparkles with pricks of pepper, juicy fruit and a splash of cream. Deliciously different from a typical Talisker, the fruit notes remind me of the Balblair recently bottled by Compass Box for their Myth & Legends series. A worthy special release.

So fruity! Nose: Pineapples, Vanilla, Iodine, Nectarines and Cream, Mangoes, Coal, Smoke, Apricots, Almonds, Watermelons, Raspberries, Chili Peppers, Anise, Cinnamon Palate: Watermelons, Luxardo Cherries, Raspberries, Salted Caramel, Butterscotch, Papayas, Strawberries, Peaches, Mangoes, Passion Fruit, Mandarins, Chili Peppers, Sea Spray Finish: Strawberries, Coal, Smoke, Iodine, Luxardo Cherries, Watermelons, Tinned Peaches, Chili Peppers, Passion Fruit, Mangoes