Showing posts with label Talisker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Talisker. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Review #96: Secret Stills 1.2 (Talisker) 1986/2007, Gordon and MacPhail, 45% abv, 1st fill sherry, C# 1361/63
open secret
So, this is Talisker. "Isle of Skye" is a bit of a giveaway.
Nose: Gentle but complex sherry nose. Dried apricots, a little iodine, walnuts, and rancio. After the nutty fruit, some peppery peat smoke. Lots of smaller notes gradually emerge: apples, white chocolate, old hay, paraffin, wood glue, leather, jonquils. Overall it's fruity, dry, and a little smoky, but it's worth spending some time with.
Palate: Soft and slightly sweet. The peat becomes prickly. There's some oak. If there's any sulfur, it's for the better.
Finish: earthy, slightly farmy peat, balanced by fruit and oak.
This is what the Distiller's Edition wishes it could be. There's nothing overwhelming here, but it's all delicious and good.
score: 90
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Review #19: Talisker Distiller's Edition 1991/2005, 45.8%, amoroso cask finish
this is the least consistent whisky I have
"Amoroso" is oloroso that's been sweetened, I think. I don't think I've ever had any. Also in the category of things that I don't feel like looking up: I think this is from back when Diageo used to give the DE's a year or two extra time in the finishing casks, not just a few weeks.
I swear the taste of this changes day by day. (Or at least season by season -- this is a liter bottle, but I've had it a while.)
On a bad day: it's generic sherry prune and cooked banana sweetness on top of peppery peat, with a slightly watery finish. Pleasant, but not exciting.
On a good day: the peat really evolves from ashes to barnyardiness -- it really opens into all kind of organic flavors -- before turning to pepper and bacon. The fruit seems spicy, with armagnac-like raisins and cloves, a bit of oak shavings, and some chalky minerality. It still seems a little light on the palate, but a dry, smoky peat lingers on the finish, occasionally interrupted by candied fruit.
So I've hesitated to drink it all, since I'm never sure what I'm going to get. It's definitely going to stop evolving soon, though, since the bottle's almost empty.
score: between 80 and 89
"Amoroso" is oloroso that's been sweetened, I think. I don't think I've ever had any. Also in the category of things that I don't feel like looking up: I think this is from back when Diageo used to give the DE's a year or two extra time in the finishing casks, not just a few weeks.
I swear the taste of this changes day by day. (Or at least season by season -- this is a liter bottle, but I've had it a while.)
On a bad day: it's generic sherry prune and cooked banana sweetness on top of peppery peat, with a slightly watery finish. Pleasant, but not exciting.
On a good day: the peat really evolves from ashes to barnyardiness -- it really opens into all kind of organic flavors -- before turning to pepper and bacon. The fruit seems spicy, with armagnac-like raisins and cloves, a bit of oak shavings, and some chalky minerality. It still seems a little light on the palate, but a dry, smoky peat lingers on the finish, occasionally interrupted by candied fruit.
So I've hesitated to drink it all, since I'm never sure what I'm going to get. It's definitely going to stop evolving soon, though, since the bottle's almost empty.
score: between 80 and 89
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