Here were are, deep into weekend when we can sit down and relax with a dram and I reserved a special dram for the latest post in our Talisker appreciation week – Talisker 18 Year Old.
Why wait for the weekend do you ask ? It’s simple – this whisky needs care and time. There’s no rushing when tasting this whisky if you want to enjoy it properly.
Talisker 18 (45.8%, £72.45)
Nose: Starts sweet and with some alcohol punch, there are some slow and gentle lazy rolling waves of smoke, signs of hot chili pepper, very sweet perfectly ripe apricots and pears, honey, very rounded, almost not Talisker-y. Oh, and almonds too.
Palate: Starts with sweet peat, sweet fruits, honey and then (at last) a blast of the Talisker dry wood bonfire smoke with sweet allspice and some pepper. If you leave the glass aside for a while, the smoke will get much more prominent and stronger.
Finish: Smoky, sweet fruits and long linger oak and pepper.
Thoughts: Maybe not as complex as I wanted it to be but it’s a great dram and definitely the best Talisker I tasted to date. it’s aged and doesn’t push forward the smoke and pepper like the 10yo does but if you nurture it over some time and give it some TLC you’ll be rewarded.
If you have missed my previous Talisker posts in the Talisker Appreciation week, here they are:
Whisky Gospel 