Talisker 10 year old single malt is a classic Island whisky from the Isle of Skye. Aged for a minimum of 10 years in American oak casks, this welcome member of Diageo's Classic Malts series has been recognised numerous times for its excellence. Immensely satisfying stuff, with whiffs of warm peat blending with coastal air, balanced by orchard fruit and juicy barley. A spectacular after dinner dram.
It was an Editor's Choice at Whisky Magazine, a gold medal winner at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2017 and was awarded 'Best Islands Single Malt' at the 2017 World Whiskies Awards.
A fresh and fragrant nose. Through thick, pungent smoke comes sweet pear and apple peels, with pinches of maritime salt from kippers, seaweed.
It's a bonfire of peat crackling with black pepper, with a touch of brine and dry barley. A welcome delivery of orchard fruit provides a delicate and beautiful balance.
In a long finish, bonfire embers toast malt and crystallise a sugary underlay.
A hint of smoke but on the whole a very uninteresting taste. Sorry over priced for me.
Just rated Powers Johns Lane few min ago - 1,5 stars (from Middleton-Pernod Ricard). Can't go any higher with this one, unfortunately… 10 years old? Right, probably in 4th or 5th filled casks. It tastes young, immature, poor. Some sweetness, vanilla, wood - no improvement with time in the glass and water. Peat is dominant, but not pleasant. Avoid, if you can.
There are currently two single malt Scotch whiskies that I would not order in a bar. This is one. It's too much for my weak palate to contemplate. It's as if someone has decided that TCP flavoured whisky isn't enough that they've added a pound of mud to each bottle to give it some body - ok that's a total exaggeration, but it is far too overpowering for me . It's probably an acquired taste, but I'm struggling to get passed the initial hit.
Disappointing rough and poor whisky. Smoothness and sophistication seem missing and there is little nose. The lack of any mellowness and pungent phenol flavour are unattractive. Finish is short and adds to the bad impression. There are several smoky and good drinking malts and this is not one of them
No, we didn´t change. Simply because once you fell in love with this dram, there was hardly any "better stuff" having similar taste profile. In the days of "great Talisker" I drank quite a few older,stronger and more expensive whiskies but still this one was my love for a lifetime. One I kept going back to without a hint of disappointment. Sadly, for a crazy someone it wasn´t enough to launch the bland NAS expressions..on top of that they destroyed the 10yo Talikser as we knew and loved it. What happened is that profit and simplification became more important than quality or customer satisfaction. These days there are not many whiskies as good as they were in 1990´s or early 2000´s. I suggest trying Ardmore triple cask or Ledaig 10yo instead, both are miles away, pure art of whisky making. I think I´m done with Talisker, my heart is now sold exclusively to Ardbeg.
