Island Single Malt Whisky
Circa £150 70cl
The second dram of the day taken in The Friends of Classic Malts Lounge and was poured by the top man himself, Donald Colville. With a fine choice to choose from sitting on top of a mantle shelf I thought carefully to chose something that would not be dominated by the earlier Lagavulin.
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| The impressive line up in the Friends of Classic Malts Lounge |
The Distillers Notes are below:
Colour: Pale amber. Good beading, attractive viscosity.
Nose: Mellow, with little prickle. Juicy and sweet, with a trace of smoke and pencil boxes behind. Soon opens out to heathery, earthy peat. After that, fruit: fresh-baked apple cake, banana, quince. Finally, salt: seaweed and ocean. Ever-changing, becoming more delicate in time. Water raises orange peel and brings in more maritime notes to balance the sweet fruitiness – warm sand, dry seaweed.
Body: Medium. Silky smooth.
Palate: Fine Talisker character; not as powerfully peppery as younger expressions, drinking well at natural strength. Sweet, with some salt. Coats the lips, never mind the tongue. Begins with soft, sweet apple sponge in custard, then a drier crisper character emerges on the middle of the tongue. Builds in power (and heat) as the inevitable pepperiness comes forward. Yet also continues sweet, returning to its unctuous beginnings. Adding water smoothes the texture and merges the flavours. Again starts sweetly, with balancing acidity overall and plenty of salt.
Finish: Medium to long. Lulls you into a sense of security, then pounces. Warming, with both pepper and, unexpectedly, peppermint.
So what did I think?
Well I like to think I could immediately tell it was a Talisker. Again I've only ever tried their 10 Year Old previously, but there was the underlying Talisker character but it was so silky smooth to taste. I certainly got the maritime notes on the nose, as well as sweet fruitiness. It was comfortable to drink at cask strength and well balanced between sweetness and saltiness.
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