Talisker Distillers Edition 2011 (Bottled 2021)

I reviewed the 2008 edition a few years back and thought it was excellent. The amoroso cask provides an interesting element that I seldom get to experience. I’ll save that for the review though. Nose: Peaty and briny. Lots of sea salt, seaweed, campfire smoke, and a bit of ash. Salt water taffy and salted caramel. Iodine. Walnut, hazelnut, and toasted almond. Woody and oaky notes. Grapefruit, lemon, and black pepper. Honey. Some fruit notes. Cranberry, pineapple, apricot. Raspberry and honeydew. Rounded off with some vanilla, honey, and toffee. Cinnamon and oak present themselves; it's not strong but the alcohol is there. Really nice combination of peat, sweet, fruit, and maritime notes. Some bitterness and citrus thrown in for good measure. Liking it a lot off the jump. Palate: Campfire smoke and iodine. Sea sea salt, seaweed, and salt water taffy. Ash and rubber. Rich dark chocolate. Anise biscotti, which is a rare one. Rich and creamy beneath the powerful peat notes and maritime notes. Vanilla, toffee, salted caramel, butterscotch, and a rare anise biscotti note. Green apple, pear, apricot, honeydew, and golden raisin. Some ginger slices thrown in. Red pepper black bean chili. Finish: Medium-long. Campfire smoke, iodine, sea salt, and seaweed, as well always. And then, there it is. True to form, I get black bean red pepper chili. Trademark Talisker. There's also a creamy note. Then grapefruit and lemon. Finally, black pepper, cinnamon, oak, and a bit more sea salt. Great finish. This is excellent. Overall, very similar to the 2008 DE in terms of notes and quality. Just the amoroso takes the Talisker profile, which alone is one of my all-time favorites, and gives it that extra dimension that none of the other expressions offer. The classic Talisker profile is still prominent, but the powerful and rich fruit notes also manage to push through the peat and heat to take an equal share of the foureground. It’s well-balanced and checks as many boxes in the flavor department as you could hope for. At $95, a paid at bit of a premium to get a vintage from the old packaging style. I’ve heard that the newer vintages aren’t quite up to snuff, and I have sampled some don’t remember being as impressed as I was with this. This release offers a tremendous vibrant and enjoyable whisky. 4.75/5.

Nose: Well balanced with malt, wine, stewed fruit and a miniscule puff of smoke but the winey note is definitely in command. Herbal tisane, cedarwood cigar box, and a medicinal brine note. The nose gains sweetness over time and a little water quells the wine aromas which allows the fragrance of autumn leaves to emerge. Palate: It's a little hot on the arrival with spicy cereal under a cloak of semi-sweet wine. The trademark Talisker pepper notes are present in the later palate, and interestingly they are even more prominent than in bourbon-matured Talisker. The texture is good with a slightly uneasy balance between sweet density and astringent spice. Mustard and paprika appear as it develops. Reduction tones down the profile but does not change the balance of flavours very much. Finish: Medium. Fruity and winey, trailing to sour brine and a hint of peppermint. Reduction sweetens the aftertaste, which is agreeable. This whisky has been around for a while now and it was one of the first “special finish” whiskies to be created, back before wine-cask finishing became a common strategy to attract attention in a crowded marketplace. Additionally, when it first appeared in 1998, Talisker Distillers Edition was unusual for not using the usual suspect oloroso or PX finishing casks, but instead being matured in casks that had held amoroso (essentially oloroso fortified with PX and brandy). Since then it has become a core-range special edition that rates positively with critics and it is always a reliable seller for Diageo. Fortified sherry maturation works well with Talisker’s peppery and briny character, adding a semi-sweet dusky quality and evolving the spicy notes. However there is something about it that has never really convinced me because while amoroso casks develop the maritime and peppery qualities of Talisker distillate they also occlude its gentle smoky character to the point that it is almost absent. It’s not a whisky I dislike, but I like bourbon-cask matured Talisker core-range age statement expressions a lot more. “Good” : 84/100 (3.75 stars)

Nose: smoke, roared wood, banana Body: sharp start but immeadily dry and sweet, raisins, caramel, oily Finish: salty and full of wood notes, sardins Great talisker, gets better with every sip