Side by side : A Talisker flight

Until 2017 Talisker was the only distillery on the Isle of Skye, built in 1830 it's now one of Diageo's workhorses. 

Here I'll try five different bottlings.

Hugh and Kenneth MacAskill arrived on Skye in 1825 to take over the running of the Talisker Estate (the name Talisker comes from the old Norse for Sloping Rock, ‘Thalas Gair’) in 1825, they weren't hugely popular as it was their job to remove the tenant farmers from the land - part of the Highlands Clearance. They wanted to replace the subsistence farmers with sheep which were more profitable.

In 1830 they build a distillery in Carbost to make even more money, but as is the way with these things they ran into trouble and the distillery changed ownership a number of times until 1880 when it was bought by Roderick Kemp and Alexander Allen. They expanded the distillery including the building of  pier – key to getting raw materials on to and whisky off the island.

In 1892 Kemp sold his share in order to buy Macallan.  In 1895 Allen died and his new business partner Thomas Mackenzie took charge. In 1898 Talisker merged with the Dailuaine and Imperial distilleries before themselves being merged with John Walker & Sons, John Dewar and W.P. Lowrie, to form Distillers Company Limited (DCL) in 1916 which eventually became Diageo.

In 1960, the distillery burned down and was silent until 1962 while it was being rebuilt. A decade later the maltings closed and the distillery began getting its requirements from Glen Ord.

Talisker had long been available as single malt from independents such as Gordon & MacPhail, and also officially, predominantly as an eight-year-old. In 1998, it was given greater prominence as a founding member of Diageo's Classic Malts Selection.

A Copper domed Stainless steel lauter mash tun helps produce a clear wort.

Photo: Amanda Reid

The six Oregon pine washbacks hold 53,000 litres but are only charged with 38,000 litres of wort from each mash cycle, a long fermentation time

On his visit to Talisker in 1887, Alfred Barnard noted that there were three stills, Talisker was triple distilled until 1928.  During upgrades and refurbishments since then, the number of stills remained ‘odd’ even though triple distillation no longer occurs.

3 spirit and 2 wash stills. Photo: distillerytours.scot

The combination of bulbous wash stills (lots of reflux/greater copper contact/purity) and lyne arm kinks (increased copper contact) would usually result in a ‘light’ spirit.

Rather than shell and tube condensers, Talisker uses worm-tubs, meaning less overall exposure to copper, giving sulphurous notes. Combined with the use of medium peated malt this results in a ‘heavy’ new make with smoke, fruit, sulphur, salt and pepper.

Let's see what their whisky is like:

Dram	10yo	2010 Distillers Edition	15yo Diageo Special Releases 2019	18yo	25yo
Characteristics	45.8% ABV Coloured & Chill-filtered Ex-bourbon	45.8% ABV Coloured & Chill-filtered Amoroso Sherry Cask Finish	57.3% ABV Uncoloured, NCF Charred American oak hogshead	45.8% ABV Coloured & Chill-filtered Ex-bourbon and Sherry Casks	45.8% ABV Coloured & Chill-filtered Ex-bourbon and Sherry Casks
Distillery notes	NOSE: Powerful peat-smoke with just a hint of the sea-water salt of fresh oysters, with a citrus sweetness. PALATE: A rich dried-fruit sweetness, clouds of smoke, strong barley-malt flavours, warming and intense. Peppery at the back of the mouth. FINISH: Huge, long, warming and peppery in the finish with an appetizing sweetness.	NOSE: Extremely sharp and well-focussed; no lingering, rambling smoke but instead a wonderful sultana sweetness. PALATE: Crisp peat softens to enormous richness, with sweet, roasty malt and a heathery dryness. Sherry replaces the usual pepper with luscious, oily sweetness. FINISH: Deep cocoa notes, magnificent vanilla and lingering, earthy peat. Very engaging; great sweet-dry balance, led by sweetness.	NOSE: A mild nose-feel, with a noticeably spicy prickle, and lightly nose-drying. The aroma is immediately maritime, with notes of sea salt, dry seaweed, peeling boat varnish, and warm sand, on a base of smouldering peat. Very spicy and malty. Honey and smoke. Even a drop of water suppresses much of this. PALATE: A mouth-filling texture at natural strength, the taste is at first unexpectedly rich and sweet before a spiciness asserts itself, with a pinch of salt. The trademark chilli catch as you swallow is still there, while the pepperiness on the palate comes across in complex waves of drying spiciness. Interestingly, all these tastes are enhanced by a little water, which makes the effect more rounded, sweeter, and spicier still. FINISH: Long and spicy, with a delightful aftertaste. Lightly drying. With water, longer, spicier and more peppery. Leaves a thread of smoke on the tongue.	NOSE: Rich and fruity Victoria plums, greengages, perhaps dried orange peel with some butterscotch or rum toffee and a thread of smoke behind. PALATE: Sweet in front, then more assertive, with a whiff of smoke. The overall effect is warming. The development is towards smoke, coal-tar, and toffee. FINISH: Medium length and chilli 'catch' in the finish.	.NOSE: Honeysuckle, beeswax, hints of fruity smoke, pineapple, lychee juice, carbolic soap, and baked beans hiding behind. PALATE: Boasts freshly cut boards, tropical fruit syrup, muddy peat, a hint of violet, juicy orange, and light smoke. FINISH: Anis, light wood, and sawdust. Floral notes linger for a long and warming finish.
My thoughts:
Appearance
	Coloured mid-gold, swirls cling as a thin line, bead up slowly and fall as slow thick legs.	Coloured mid-gold, swirls cling as a hairline crack. Beads take an age to form and fall as slow thin legs.	Not coloured  but looks the same as the other four! Swirls cling as tiny beads and fall as slow thin legs	Coloured mid-gold, swirls cling as a thin line, bead up slowly and fall as slow thick legs.	Coloured mid-gold, swirls cling as a thin line, bead up slowly and fall as slow thick legs.
Nose	This is the bonfire on a beach dram - peat smoke and maritime breeze combining beautifully. Bacon frazzles, BBQed oysters drizzled with lemon juice.	An interesting nose on this one the bonfire on a beach mixing with berry and honey notes. The bonfire has maybe died out and we're just noticing the embers?	The ABV hits you on this one, much higher than the other drams and it really shows. Musty dunnage notes are added to the bonfire on a beach notes of the 10yo but with a little honey sweetness.	Like the Distillers Edition a subdued version of the 10yo - the extended time in the cask dialling down the smoke and maritime notes. Toffee and orange juice notes come to the fore.	A little woody, the Talisker DNA is starting to fade a bit by 25yo, the smoke has almost gone, the maritime notes all but gone; they are replaced by oaky vanilla and tropical fruit.
Palate	Smooth sweet arrival, a little thin maybe? Barley sugars and honey blanketed in peat smoke. The salt notes from the nose come through well. There's some tropical fruit hints - pineapple, banana, mango; and a lovely peppery spice as the liquid disappears. A few more sips offer coffee or bitter chocolate and a dry nuttiness.	Again smooth and sweet, the smoke has been dialled down, the tropical fruit is still there but joined by some berries - strawberries and blackberries. There is a little citrus on the palate which is missing from the 10yo, the bitter chocolate notes turning a bit more milky and filled with dried fruit. A peppery spice left as the liquid disappears.	This is a completely different beast - a huge difference in mouthfeel - lingering sweetness and smoke on the tongue. Barley sugars and honey are back, a little tropical fruit and a huge peppery spice kick. The smoke and salt notes from the 10 have been amplified. A few more sips offer toffee and sweet citrus.	Similar to the Distillers Edition - sweet arrival, smoke, salt, tropical fruit and some berry notes but the peppery spice has all but gone. The extra 8 years in the cask has mellowed everything a little but stripped away most of the spice notes. But it's very nice! The sherry  cask influence has added berry and milk chocolate notes along with some citrus.	Very smooth, sweet arrival, oily even, smoke and salt all but gone like the 18y but for some reason the peppery spice is back. More tropical fruit - pineapple, banana, mango, peach with a little vanilla custard. There's a lot more milk chocolate on this one but I'm struggling to taste any other sherry cask influence - no berries, no dried fruit.
Finish	Lingering smoke and salt with a huge bite of peppery spice - yummy!	Short fruit finish with a blast of smoke and that peppery spice bite.	Sweet honey followed by a lingering smoke and salt with a huge bite of peppery spice - yummy!	Lingering tropical fruit and berries with a little smoke.	Lingering tropical fruit and berries with a little smoke and oaky vanilla.
Overall	The 10yo is a good dram, everyone should have a bottle on their shelf - as I said it is the best example of a 'bonfire on a beach' whisky. For me the only thing letting it down is the mouthfeel - a little thin. Please Diageo just knock the ABV up by 0.2% and stop chill-filtering - this would then be a great dram. The Distillers Edition is the 10yo taken early and finished for an undisclosed period - maybe 6 months in a sherry cask - the Talisker DNA is still there, a little subdued, but sherry notes of berries and dried fruit have been added. Again a little thin (Diageo please see above). The 15yo Special Release is similar to what I'd think a 10yo Cask Strength bottling would be like - Talisker DNA smoke, salt and spice all turned up a notch with a lovely mouthfeel. The 18yo was a big surprise for me, a lot of the Talisker DNA has been subdued, the peppery spice finish most of all, it's a little sweeter overall. Blind I'd never have said Talisker - probably more Speyside - but it's a really nice dram. The 25yo is a difficult one to pigeon hole, it's old yes, the oak has had a huge influence, especially on the nose. For me the Talisker DNA is starting to disappear - the smoke and salty notes have all but gone, the peppery spice too and what does that leave? Not a whisky that costs £250 In order I'd go 15yo Special Release, 10yo, 18yo, 25yo, Distillers Edition. Diageo obviously sell a lot of Talisker and probably don't listen much to what bloggers have to say... but... for me as I'm getting older the key thing about drinking a whisky is the mouthfeel and chill filtering strips it all away. Why bottle at 45.8% coloured and chill filtered? I get the colour on consistency grounds but an extra 0.2% isn't going to be noticeable on the profits but would make a huge difference to the mouthfeel. Isn't that what drinking whisky is all about?

Many thanks to @WessexWhisky and @WesWhiskyDave for the opportunity to buy the sample set!