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    • talisker distiller's edition

    Talisker Distiller's Edition 95
    Distillery
    Talisker
    Style
    Single Malt
    Release
    Unspecified
    Age
    Unspecified
    Alcohol
    45.8% abv.
    Region
    Scotland, Island
    Bottled For
    Distillery

    Like all CLASSIC MALT Distillers Editions, this Talisker has been double-matured in a second cask after the original maturation period (in this case in an Amoroso Sherry cask). The experience is older, sweeter and richer than the regular bottlings. This Edition has a very special bitter-sweet harmony where the peat softens on the palate to a rich, sweet, juicy fruit finish.

    review by zap

    99
    Color
    Copper-Gold Alloy, more Copper than Gold
    Nose
    Light peat smoke, leaving plenty of room for the oak ("vanilla"), sweet sherry and malt ("honey") to waft through. A slight note of salt. Bitter, sweet and salty smells combine to give this whisky an appealing complexity that the more aggressively peat-smoked whiskeys lack.
    Body
    Thick, Oily, but not thick enough to be Creamy or Syrupy, opting instead for that certain Silkiness that certain medium-thick bodied whiskies have. The trade-off is that it doesn't fill your mouth the way that a truly "creamy" full-bodied whisky would, but it is certainly in no ways thin or watery.
    Palate
    The dominant impression is one of light, sweet peat smoke that isn't afraid to share the stage with other flavors. The sweet malt and sherry come through strongly, but are balanced nicely by the smoke which prevents them from being too sweat, as does the barley flavor, and the note of sea-salt that you can barely pick up on the nose but which comes through much more visibly on the palate. Once again, the dominant impression is complexity - if you sip on this whisky several times and each time try to focus on a different flavor, you come away with a lot of very distinct, strong impressions. This is a whisky you never have to get bored of, much like dating a woman with multiple personality disorder.
    Finish
    This is what this whisky is really famous for. I haven't experienced the Talisker dry, peppery burn in any other whisky. It will take you by surprise the first time. And the finish is very long -- I'm still tasting it on the exhale, minutes after I swallowed.

    When you first start drinking Scotch whisky, you begin with the mild stuff - if only due to its availability. The smoky, peaty island whiskies are an acquired taste that demands a certain degree of refinement that not all individuals possess. Once you have acquired the taste, and separated yourself definitively from the dominant culture of instant gratification and syrupy, neon-colored cosmopolitans that surrounds you, you may remain at this stage - the full-bore, smoky-peaty stage - for many years. But after a time, some whisky drinkers drink so much island whisky that they lose their initial, peaty hunger. They no longer need to prove to themselves that they can handle (and enjoy) the flavors of peat and smoke, and they develop a yearning for a whisky that, without abandoning the island style, might dabble in a little more complexity - and employ the flavor of smoke more as a tantalizing tease that highlights the other flavors that life has to offer. This is when one graduates to drinking Talisker.

    review by coloradodram

    94
    Color
    Dark amber gold.
    Nose
    Sweet sherry with crushed nuts (almonds?) followed by subtle flowers (honeysuckle) with vanilla and sweet honey. Aerate and nose this one at different depths and moments in time to achieve full complexity.
    Body
    Medium-full bodied, more silky than the 10 year (which is no slouch).
    Palate
    Very sweet caramelized sugar at the outset (almost too sweet that it dominates the nutty wood promised by the nosing), then it delivers the tingly pepper malt kick typical of Talisker. Be patient on this dram.
    Finish
    Though stated as three years the elder of the 10 year, this one has a nice youthful spirited (though not acidy) attack and fresher, saltier, drier, more balanced, less smoky finish.

    This one manages to merge the best of youthful Islay (salty, fresh, peat smoke), Speyside sherries (dessert-like, oily, nutty, dry finish), and Orkney (balanced floral expression), while maintaining its unique peppery character. An absolute marvel and worthy of the significantly heftier price. Drink neat, infrequently so as to discover its complexity each time, and aerate and nose a single dram over a long period for maximum effect.

    review by dramiel mchinson

    92
    Color
    Amber and gold
    Nose
    delicate at first with hints of sherry wine and classic peat
    Body
    medium body with a smooth full flavored taste
    Palate
    Starts on sweet fruit syrup. Mid palate a blast of peat smoked malt comes through with a strong oak foundation; light spice.
    Finish
    Long, smooth and warm. Dry, classic peat and smokey with rich oak notes

    A slight departure from the classic Talisker smoke, peat, and black pepper. This expression is special and stands on its own.