Talisker 25 Year

Ah, Talisker. In the words of Jim Carey: I like you. I like you, A LOTTT! So much so, in fact, I bought all the bottles in your core range all the way up to the 30 year old. I’d also buy the 40 if you drop the price a scooch: $3400 is a little too too much. But, I digress... The Talisker 25 year (from 2011). I bought this bottle for $275 a few years ago in my quest to build a set of the above mentioned core range. On a dare, I opened this to settle a dispute over what many were saying was an inferior product. Come to find out- it was the 2017 bottling that was causing quite a stir. My 2011 was fine, damn fine actually. This was bottle #1613 of 5946 for 2011. It was the first batch of 25 that wasn’t offered at cask strength. You need to go back to 2009 and earlier for one of those puppies. Damn. It’s a rich gold in the taster. Very oily with medium drops forming after a spin. Bottled at the Talisker hot spot of 45.8% ABV. The nose begins like all Tally’s- briny, sea salt, seashore. I can hear the gulls squawking. Give it some appropriate time to warm up to you slamming your nose up it’s skirt and it’ll relax and reward you with ripe raspberries, orchard fruit and baker’s chocolate. The lightest of smoke rises and fills the neighborhood, just like a summertime backyard grill. The smoke is light, but sure hangs heavy. That’s heavenly IMO. The palate returns you home to the Atlantic Isles with peppery dock wood, smoke and peat. Mushroom earthiness, leather-bound books and malted apples with that wonderful briny backbone. Everything is modestly dry but there’s absolutely no harshness. It is 25 years old mind you. The finale is long and luscious, chocolate smoke that’s rich and everlasting. The salty bite at the very end keeps this from finishing too dessert-like and that also put a big smile on my face. If the earlier, cask strength bottles are considered a lot better than the blended down versions then, holy hell, where do I sign up to give my right arm for one? I mean seriously. This thing is right there on the line of perfection- especially if you adore Talisker. My only gripe- it costs $275. You can get 85% of the way here with a $78 bottle of the 18 year old. Which begs the question: why buy this one? Well, I’ll tell you why- because you can’t take it with you, my friends. Spend that paycheck and treat yourself. You deserve it. You really do. 4.75 stars. Cheers.

Nose: Light citrus zest and juice, blended with the gentlest possible aromatic herbal tobacco. Faint brine dances about, but it's way in the background and the breeze that carries it also bears honeysuckle, strawberry jam, tangerine, ripe peach, vanilla blossom, lilac and rose petal. After resting and developing for 20 minutes the nose gains considerable heft and takes on a leathery quality, but the initial light smoked-fruit character perseveres. Later still, a more energetic tobacco note evolves and after 40 minutes of resting in the glass this whisky is still evolving and expanding. The smoke element on the nose of this dram is of a completely different quality and class than that evinced by any other smoky whisky. C'est formidable. Palate: Masterful. Complex yet simple with waves, layers and whorls of coiling expression. The arrival and development are so closely entwined it's impossible to extricate the components. Mild peat smoke, honey, plums, berries of all description, barley sugar, marzipan, the faintest tinge of pepper and sweet chili, leathery richness, candied hazelnuts, pontefract cake, squill candy, honey jumbles, tea cake, the sweetest of red apples, smoked herring, smoked salmon, caramel ... that just scratches the surface. The signature Talisker chili "catch" is still there, but now it's a slow-burn glow that evolves in the late palate to fill the senses with a warmth like a sunny afternoon. Finish: Long. Exceptionally elegant and fruity, faintly smoky, and delightfully savory, the sum total of the palate experience gently and elegantly waltzes into the gloaming. An impeccable whisky. Seamlessly fashioned, seductive, magnificently textured - the integration and balance is a thing of beauty that brings tears to the eyes - it must be tasted to be believed. It's not cheap, but it is worth every cent. This is a desert island dram. "Outstanding" : 90/100 (5 stars)

Ordered a sample of this from masters of malt. Did not want to pay 300+$ to find out if I liked this or not. This whiskey really through me for a loop. I love Talikser. Talisker 10 is one of my favorite peated Scotches. It's a nice light peat, infused with that salty brine that really makes it wonderful. I've had Talisker 10 and Storm( many of both in fact) and was sure that 25 should be a similar experience, just taken to the next level. Let's get on to my notes for the truth of the thing: Nose: Glue(paste), Green Banana, Musty, Light Tangerine, Light pepper w/ time, and finally towards the end spicy bbq'd baby back ribs. Taste: sweet melon! kelp salt, rainbow sherbert icecream! Where's the peat?! Mouthfeel is light, on the watery side, but powerful flavor. Finish: Cantelope! Shortish in length. I am really torn with this whiskey. In many respects, it is a good dram! However, I was expecting classic Talisker and this is a completely different beast. So much unexpected fruit. It's like they traded the peat/smoke for fruit. It was a fun tasting experience, but I would not want to pay 300$ for this. I know of far more interesting dram's that can be had for under 100$ a bottle. I understand that this is 25 years old and it is hard to hold on to that kind of stock, but this is simply not worth the price tag. I recommend getting a sample, and trying. Maybe for some out there, this will be worth the price of a full bottle.

The 45.8% ABV bottling from 2011 My starter for my birthday weekend in DC, which will feature ridiculous pours and bottles. This was at Minibar, where they gave me the rest of the bottle, which halfway filled up the Glencairn. We will call it a generous 3 ounces. Sipping on this during a 2 Michelin starred 20 course tasting menu is unfair, but this dram held its own. Not as complex as the food, but it was actually a very good complement to many dishes that were briny and gamey. The best way to describe this is if they turned the ocean into silk. All of the aggression from the 10 year old that was refined in the 18 year old is now completely subdued in the 25. Because it’s not trying to slap you in the face, you can focus on the layers of complexity. Thick brined fruitiness on the nose. Grapefruits, mandarins, pears, peaches. Lightly floral. On the palate, just layers of gentle ocean flavors and fruits that are perfectly blended into one another. Seaweed, kelp, rope, iodine, and still a little antiseptic medicinal peat, but so well rounded. Buttery, silky, with gentle honey, oak, spices, and that medicinal peat on the finish. My wife, who loves Macallan, and ordered a pour from some Macallan diamond earring cask, denounced Macallan in front of everyone and declared Talisker her favorite after trying this. Great! Time to buy this bottle, and a bottle of the even better 1985 maritime edition. 95 / 100

Nose: pure poetry, the stormy sea inside, with a very light smoke and just as light peaty. I do not perceive anything else, and this makes it perfect. Palate: a hint of salty, sweet, velvety. A hint of alcoholic spiciness on the tip of the tongue, otherwise always salty, but here I do not perceive smoke, only light peat. Warm and enveloping. Final: warm and long. Perfect. A spectacular whisky. You take a sip and you feel like you are in a house by the sea in Scotland, with the storm outside and the fireplace burning. Phenomenal. Rating 5.00+ ______________________________________________________________ Naso: poesia pura, il mare in burrasca dentro, con un leggerissimo fumo ed altrettanto leggera torbatura. Non percepisco altro, e questo lo rende perfetto. Palato: una punta di salino, dolce, vellutato. Una punta di piccante alcolico sulla punta della lingua, per il resto sempre salino, ma qui non fumo, solo leggera torba. Caldo ed avvolgente. Finale: caldo e lungo. Perfetto. Un whisky spettacolare. Ne bevi un sorso e ti sembra di essere in una casa in riva al mare in Scozia, con la burrasca fuori ed il camino acceso. Fenomenale. Voto 5,00+

Its a Talisker, did you expect a lower score than 100 on a 25yo expression? Imposible. Actually i don't believe this is the best Talisker that i have had. It is great and i would drink it any day at any hour but it feels a lot less than the 30yo and not better than the 18yo. It is amazing but not incredible. Bottled at talisker classic 45.8%abv, burnished gold color. On the nose it is overwhelming. Leather. Burnt heather. Burnt grass. Sulphur. Shoe box. Lemongrass. Pepper. Ashes. Letting it breath releases old caramel; burnt and thick caramel. Is there a cherry note somewhere? I think i got cherry. After first sip is the typical toffee note from talisker. Simply outstanding. On the palate: Orange, Pepper, Toffee, Lemon; Everything feels old. The burning peat is very fancy and delicious. Aftertaste has Burnt heather, Pepper, Ashes. Fire and ashes and sulphur. So refined. Incredibly long and salty. Overall this is talisker on steroids, not better than the 18yo and not inferior to the 30yo. It just seems like a perfect dram between the two. A little expensive. 100 over 100. Long live King Talisker.