A terrific Talisker 15 year old, forming part of the eagerly awaited 2019 Diageo Special Releases.
This bottling has been matured in heavily charred American oak Hogsheads, which enhances the sophisticated, peppery peat smoke that Talisker always possesses.
The final result is a Talisker that offers up notes of sweet iodine and kelp, sugared malt, toasted nuts, cinnamon, caramel, nutmeg, gentle peat smoke, red cherries, slight chilli, woodsmoke, ash, peaches, vanilla, cream, and rich charred oak.
Bottled at a very generous (and rather spicy) cask strength of 57.3% ABV, and without chill filtration or colouration, this is Talisker as it should be: intense, complex and coastal.
The maritime nature of the whisky is reflected by its label, which features images of the briny depths. This label is keeping with the general theme of the 2019 Special Release: “Rare by Nature”.