December 9, 2015

Time warp sessions, Talisker

We’ve got a very old NAS to try, but while what may sound logical would be to try it vs. a current NAS (Skye, anyone?), we preferred to pick a current 18. Indeed, we haven’t tried the 18 since quite a few years.

Talisker (43%, OB, for Grande Marche Francesi, Italy, +/-1965)

We’ve tasted the famous 8 yo from roughly the same period a while back, and just adored it. But I believe this is an even earlier NAS version… Colour: deep gold. Nose: hard to say. Perhaps overripe mangos crushed with a piece of limestone or something like that, then filtered using an old brass sieve, then blended with menthol cigarette juice and old engine oil? Add a drop of ink and a drop of graphite oil, perhaps, as well as a spoonful of seawater. Crushed lovage leaves? Brilliant ;-). Mouth: totally exceptional, starting as brutal as a 100proof whisky, greatly bitter and peppery – this is well Talisker – and getting saltier and saltier, while it’s more dried fruits that are playing second fiddles this time. Mentholy raisins? The power and the depth are insane considering the moderate strength. Finish: extremely long, peppery and ‘tropical’, with mangos and passion fruits cooked with gravy. And seawater. Very salty and smoky aftertaste. Comments: it does not disappoint. One of the great classics, whether NAS or bottled at 8 years of age. It’s also funny that it rather remained as smoky as some other well-known classics, the Laphroaig 10s from the 1960s. SGP:565 - 93 points.

Talisker 18 yo (45,8%, OB, +/-2015)

Colour: deep gold. Nose: it is extremely different, but it’s hard to know what comes from bottle ageing or not. This one’s gentler, narrower, rather more on green walnuts and ashes, then lemon-flavoured brioche and some kind of mentholy leather. It whispers a bit, but the whole remains clean and pleasant. Also some hessian, old tarry ropes and all that in the background. Mouth: we’re a little closer to the old NAS, with more power this time, salty leather, certainly a camphory side that makes it taste like ‘an older bottle’, a little ginger liqueur, then more and more bitter oranges, before it gets frankly dry and more bitterish(ish). I think I’ve found it lighter and gentler last time I tried it. Finish: quite long, peppery, leathery, salty, walnutty. Again, much drier than I remembered. And smokier too! Comments: more austere, and a little rougher than expected. Bah, a great dram anyway. Love it, it’s probably a future classic that we’ll miss eventually. SGP:466 - 89 points.

Check the index of all Talisker I've tasted so far

Pete McPeat and Jack Washback