Talisker 18 Jahre - 45,8% - Isle of Skye Single Malt

Jim Murray´s Whisky Bible 2019 – 93,5 pts: *Nose 23.5 once upon a time the smoke on this must have been slightly above the Talisker average, as, even in this genteel and non-threatening form, it comes across clearly, adding an attractive weight. This is a massaging of the nose…; taste 23.5 you get the feeling that brilliant oak is in play here, as the immediate marriage between the smoke and the tannins is something of rare interdependence. Molasses breaks down into Demerara as the sweetness is consumed by the building vanilla. The smoke is rarely little more than a wisp; finish 23 just a light shade of bitterness creeps in, but some metallic, smoky heather honey forms towards the finish; balance and overall complexity 23.5 after such a good age, you don´t expect the roaring Talisker of younger days but might expect a little more than is available here. Delicious, nonetheless.*
~~~
Jim Murray´s Whisky Bible 2021 – 86.5 pts: *Nose 23, taste 22, finish 20, balance and overall complexity 21.5. Like the 10-year-old, not up to the same high standards of the last bottling I tasted. Starts promisingly as a deft smokiness drifts in and out a light heather honey and lightly-salted cucumber semi-freshness. But the delivery feels weighed down by far too much toffee while the finish is bitter and uneven. Some OK moments early on. But Talisker should be so much better than this.

*Farbe: Sattes Orange. Nase: Küste. Torf, Seetang, starker Pfeffer. Körper: Voll, schwer und cremig.
Gaumen: Enorm und schwer. Klassisch Taliske, aber schwerer als der 10-Jährige. Viel volle Frucht, zum
Schluss Eiche und Torf. Nachklang: Perfekt ausgewogen. Angenehm und lang, mit Pfeffer und Torf zum
Abschluss. Punkte: 94/100*