Whisky Discovery #409

Talisker Port Ruighe NAS (45.8%)
Island Single Malt
circa £45.00 70cl

This is the second of two new recently introduced Talisker whiskies which we have been fortunate to receive review samples of. It's also the first ever Talisker release which has been double matured in ruby port casks.

It has been named Port Ruighe after the ancient name of the principal town and port on the Isle of Skye Portree or Port Righ to use it's current Gaelic name. Like the recently released Storm, Port Ruighe is a permanent addition to the current core range of single malts.

Master Blender Maureen Robinson explains: “Talisker Port Ruighe is a combination of spirit that has been matured in American Oak and European Oak refill casks in the traditional manner along with spirit that has been filled into specially conditioned deeply charred casks. The spirit is then finished in casks that have previously held Port Wine which endows it with spicy fruit notes. These bond elegantly with that clean, fresh smokiness that signals its essential Talisker character.”

So What Did We Think?

Kat: Nose: Wood charcoal, fresh Victoria plumbs at peak ripeness, little bit of mahogany wood, sticky raisins, butter notes, spices – cloves & cinnamon. Overall reminds me of very rich fruit cake. I swear I can even pick out a bit of blanched almonds. With water it’s like a dampened fire, more mossy earthy smells, instead of fruit cake it’s more Victoria sponge, and the only spice present is sweet cinnamon. 

Taste: Initially a sweet/sour taste, not unpleasant but hard to described, almost like Balsamic vinegar. This doesn't stay for very long, is replaced by maple syrup notes with a melt-in-the mouth quality, wood notes and wood smoke follows (their signature flavours as you would expect), spices – just cloves this time, towards the end there was some bitterness and oil from lemon zest. This bitterness and the smoky characters balances out the sweet notes so it’s not sickly sweet. With water, it becomes more smooth and silky. Is sweeter but mellow, with some smoke which reminds me of the smell of pipe tobacco, or cigars. And instead of raisins, it’s more like sultanas, not as rich. No spicy 

Finish: Tingly warm from spices (more from cloves), leaving a little bit of a dry mouth feel with bitter black coffee notes at the end. A long lingering finish. With water it is not as intense, there is still some warmth, little bit of spices with wood smoke at the end. 

Overall it’s a very nice dram, which is just as nice with or without water, would very much depend on my mood but I do like it’s adaptability. Short summary I would say robust and punchy without water, mellow but still retains a full body character with water. 

Dave: The nose comes across as sweet with strong notes of caramel at first before that peppery maritime note Talisker is famed for comes through. With notes of oiled hemp rope, damp peat and a touch of brine, the Port cask influence brings the fruity flavours of ripe plums, and throughout there's a sweet smokiness.

This is really quite smooth and mouth-coating. It's sweet to taste at first, before a peat reek comes through before the hot pepper builds and fades back to a creamy smokiness. The ripe plums come through on the palate and there is even a hint of cherry. The finish is long and lingering with a drying smokiness.

Verdict: Again I really quite enjoyed this one, am I going to rush out and buy a bottle? Probably not, as previously mentioned on the Storm post, my wish list is long and I really want to add a bottle of Distiller's Edition and their 18 Year Old to my shelf beforehand, but I would happily have this on my shelf.

And finally, many thanks for Talisker's PR team for sending us the sample, photograph and information. For more information take a look at their website;  Talisker Whisky

Whisky Discovery #405

Talisker Storm NAS (45.6% abv)
Island Single Malt Whisky
Circa £40.00 70cl

This is the first of two new recently introduced Talisker whiskies which we have been fortunate to receive review samples of. Storm is said to be an exuberant new expression, more intense and smoky, with enhanced and vibrant maritime notes, smoothly balanced with Talisker’s signature hot sweetness.

This new expression which will be a permanent addition to the Talisker family sits between the Talisker 10 and Talisker Distiller's Edition and  comes from a marriage of rejuvenated and refill casks at different ages and is bottled at the traditional Talisker strength of 45.8% ABV, without an age statement.

I remembered reading about 'rejuvenated' casks a little while back and so delved into my archive to re-read and digest.

Rejuvenated casks have been around for a few years now, ex-bourbon casks were subjected to steaming and scraping  thus creating a new wood surface which would be charred with a gas flame before re-using.

More recently the Cambus Cooperage installed a new system for rejuvenating casks. When casks come to the end of their usable life (usually after the fifth fill) they run through this new processing line which keeps all the cask parts together via a RF (radio frequency)  tag system. 

The casks are de-charred via a machine that shaves the inside of the barrel surface away, taking around 3-4 mm , exposing the new wood, this is said to be much better at removing the 'undesirable' elements than the original scraping or flailing process. The casks can then be re-charred before being put back into service

Whisky Science have a great article on cask rejuvenation and the effects on flavour profiles here but in short summation de-charred and re-charred exhausted ex-bourbon casks seem to produce more sweet and woody notes whereas refill casks tend to bring out the drier woody notes. 

So What Did We Think? 

Kat: Nose:  Rich and robust. Sweet slightly moist tobacco (half cigar, half rolling tobacco), juicy raisins, nice balance of wood smoke, and the smell of rolls of damp turf. 

Taste:  Slightly burnt caramel, some honey notes, warming mouth feel from fresh chillies, dark chocolate with a high cocoa content, similar taste to Soreen loaf with butter without the heaviness, and lemon Lockets. 

Finish: Relatively long. Starts with the lovely wood smoke, followed by the warming chilli heat, and honey towards the end.  

Dave: I needed to reacquaint myself with Talisker 10 before I started tasting Storm. Talisker 10 was one of the early bottles I bought right at the beginning of this journey, it came highly recommended from the man who converted me to whisky, it was one of my early favourites. The bottle had long gone, and reading my blogpost for it gave me no real details (at the beginning it was just a 'liquid log' with very few tasting notes, if any). So it was off to the pub to catch myself a healthy sample to sit alongside it.

Colour-wise there is very little difference between the two expressions but as there is no mention of these being naturally coloured I would suspect that the harmony has been maintained with a drop or two of spirit caramel

On the nose there is gentle peat reek over the Talisker white pepper, however the seafood liquor experienced in the Talisker 10 Year Old is no longer there. There's a sweet note, honey like and slightly floral almost though certainly not delicate. The sweetness extends to the light smoky notes which start to slowly creep out of the glass. The maritime saltiness is there as is the white pepper.

This has a oily mouth-coating feel to it with sweet gentle honey notes, the spices build slowly giving that Talisker heat profile one comes to expect. The wild fennel note picked up on the 10 year old is evident here too, and that sweet smokiness found on the nose comes through on the palate too, but this is well balanced by the briny note.

It finishes with a smoky beach fire, salty driftwood smouldering. The white pepper remains with the sweet peat smoke and there's some woody notes too. Later the empty glass smells of that sweet smoke.

Verdict: not a bad drop of drammage, am I going to rush out and buy a bottle? Probably not, as my list is long and I really want to add a bottle of Distiller's Edition and their 18 year old to my shelf beforehand.

And finally, many thanks for Talisker's PR team for sending us the sample, photograph and information. For more information take a look at their website;  Talisker Whisky

Whisky and Food Pairing

Whisky & Food Tasting at The Butlers Wharf Chop House

(Kat's first solo post)

Last week I was invited to London to The Butlers Wharf Chop House by the lovely Tara Sura. To begin with let me tell you a little bit about Tara; she’s one half of the Fork and Dram blog: www.forkanddram.wordpress.com and an event organiser at The Butlers Wharf Chop House. In terms of whisky, she’s newbie at the start of her journey. 

This was my first proper food & whisky pairing and the evening was being hosted by the delightful Colin Dunn of Diageo, so I had high expectations. This is the fourth tasting I have done with Colin this year, same as every time before, his enthusiasm for whisky and the whole tasting experience is contagious. He seems to be able to give everyone ‘the Meg Ryan moment' as he calls it; this is when someone suddenly gets what whisky is all about. 

There were around twelve people at the tasting, it was a good size crowd and we were sat in the end corner of the restaurant making it an intimate affair. The consisted of a few residents who lived in the apartments above the restaurant (lucky them), a recently qualified sommelier, and from what I can gather a couple of bartenders or from the restaurant/bar industry, and obviously Tara and myself. 

The canapés were looking very delicious, all made in house by the resident chef and the six whiskies were looking just as delicious with the light shining through each glass reflecting different shades of gold onto the table. 

No.1 Talisker 10 Year Old paired with Severn & Wye smoked salmon 

The tasting began with a Talisker 10 Year Old. The nose gives smoke from a wood fire with some wood charcoal. The smoky characters continue on the palate with more of the wood charcoal coming through, has a slight oily character that coats the mouth with the smokiness that’s followed by a fiery chili kick. For me this is a red Thai bird eye chili.

This was paired with smoked salmon from Severn & Wye smokehouse on pumpernickel bread. The whisky brought out the sweetness in both the salmon and the bread. The red chili notes in the whisky cuts through the richness of this canapé giving it light & fresh feel. This was a little surprising for me as I was expecting the smoky character of the whisky to be more over powering. Instead it was there nicely mingling with the sweetness and fresh notes all doing the waltz. 

The Severn & Wye smoke salmon brings back good memories of various camping holidays around the Forest of Dean. We always pass the smoke house on our journey and have to stop in. 

No.2 Oban 14 Year Old paired with Haggis and swede on toasted sour dough bread

The second whisky was a 14 Year Old Oban. On the nose I got mineral qualities, salt, dried earth and dried leaves, baby powder, and buttery sweetness of short bread. With water, the smell changes to damp wood like wet fencing or decking. On the palate there’s some heat, with a citrus zest, and sea salt comes through. Overall found it light and refreshing compared to the Talisker. Water didn't change the taste much, just made it sweeter and mellower for me. The finish was long & warm, full of black pepper. 

This was paired with Haggis with swede on toasted sour dough bread. The crisp zesty notes cut through the richness of the Haggis and brings out the spices used in its flavouring. The cinnamon and nutmeg is more pronounced than they would normally be compared with just eating it on its own. 

No.3 Dalwhinnie 15 Year Old paired with shortbread made by the chef

We then moved onto the Dalwhinnie 15 Year Old. On the nose it’s floral and smelt similar to the shortbread that’s it was being paired with – sweet buttery creaminess. On the palate the sweet floral notes came through. I noted this to be a light and refreshing whisky. There is a little bit of heat on the finish but doesn't stay for long. 

With the shortbread, same as previous it, it just turbo charges all the flavours that already in the food. Here it brings out malt flavours in the shortbread and cuts through the richness. The mouth is left fairly clean, not coated with shortbread. 

No.4 Lagavulin 16 Year Old paired with Coulson Bassett Stilton cheese 

The fourth whisky was a Lagavulin 16 Year Old. On the nose it’s a very bold whisky with smoky peat aromas. I also got iodine and sour cherries. On the palate its sweet, smoky peat and black cherries towards the end with a sweet smoky finish. 

This was paired with Stilton Cheese.  I'm not a big fan of Stilton or blue cheeses in general but the whisky really balanced out the strong flavours of the cheese. It brings out the creaminess and the saltiness, more like I was eating salty ricotta. The blue cheese flavour that’s the main character of the Stilton is still there but much more mellow. It was really quite pleasant.

No.5 Glenkinchie 12 Year Old paired with Gran Padana cheese 

Our fifth whisky was the lowland Glenkinchie 12 Year Old. On the nose I got a light floral and a malt note, that reminded me of Horlicks. By this point the conversation was flowing so I didn’t get to nose the whisky for long, hence the short notes. 

This was paired with Gran Pandana cheese which is similar to Parmesan cheese. It really brings out the saltiness of the cheese, makes it really creamy and brought out a nutty note out of the cheese; definitely enhancing the umami taste. The whisky also added a hint of spice which was nice towards the end which cuts through the creaminess to leave a clean palate feel.

This was one of my favourite combos so far, making me go back for seconds. 

No.6 Singleton of Dufftown 18 Year Old paired with 70% Valhrona dark chocolate tartlet

Our final whisky was the Singleton 18 Year Old. I must apologise though, as by this point I had got too wrapped up in the evening and only took down a very short note: the nose was sweet, malts, fruit cake, and Sherry notes, but if you want to know more check out our Whisky Discovery #48 

The Singleton was paired with a dark chocolate, and two pieces just wasn't enough! The smooth chocolate melted like butter and when combined with the whisky made the best tasting chocolate whisky liquor. Again it elevates the chocolate, bringing out the rich bitter cocoa tastes but didn't have any of the heaviness of being 70% cocoa. 

We have tried all of these whiskies before and Dad has had most of them on his shelf at one time or other, and still has a Dalwhinnie 15 Year Old on it.

If you are interested in The Butlers Wharf Chop House they can be found at www.chophouse-restaurant.co.uk, and details for Severn & Wye Smokehouse can be found at www.severnandwye.co.uk.

Thank you for reading and I hoped everyone enjoyed my first full solo post! x Kat x

Whisky Discovery #114

Talisker 57° North NAS (57.8% abv, OB Bottled 2012 70cl)
Island Single Malt Whisky
Circa £50.00 70cl

Talisker 57ºN alongside Caol Ila 12 Year Old

The second dram of the Magnificent Seven Master Class at The Whisky Lounge Midlands Fest at Stratford upon Avon. Colin Dun, Diageo Ambassador Supremo had us comparing the nose of the Cardhu 12 year old to this to demonstrate the differences between different whiskies, but after we had finished the Cardhu, we moved onto this 'no age statement' from Talisker. Made for a range of ages of three years and older, all of the distilled spirit has been matured in first fill American oak casks. Talisker is produced in the Isle of Skye, and this expression is named after the distillerys' latitudinal position. 


I was really looking forward to tasting this, as I love the Talisker I have tasted to date. I bought my myself a bottle of their 10 year old a while back now, and was fortunate to taste both their 25 Year Old and 30 Year Old expressions at the Whisky Live show in London

So what did I think?
Initially a mossy, musty wood on the nose - although by no means unpleasant. There were hints of seaweed and vanilla and a light smokiness that I really like. Eventually I was getting the creamy toffee sweetness through it. In the mouth it was intense and smoky - lovely! Sweet initially with the signature spicy pepperiness at the end. It was being described as having a chilli fiery heat, but Kat and I looked at each other and said that they have never tasted any of Mum's hot Thai food, and so probably couldn't really appreciate what hot chillies really feel like!   A splendid dram and certainly affordable and one that will need to grace my whisky shelf before too long, it's on my wish list and with a birthday coming up soon (subtle hint family members!)

Whisky Discovery #49

Talisker 30 Year Old (53.1%abv, OB, Bottled 2011 70cl)
Island Single Malt Whisky

Circa £250 70cl 

Talsiker 25 and 30 Year Olds

The fifth dram of the day, and still in The Friends of Classic Malts Lounge was poured by Diageo Ambassador, Colin Dunn. We were finding it difficult to pull ourselves away from the fine selection of whiskies available, and the very comfortable surroundings of the Drum Room.

The Talsiker 30 Year Old is a limited edition, and the oldest expression released to date. A natural cask strength single malt whisky each batch will be slightly different from batch to batch, but always from American Oak and European Oak refill casks, and each release is limited to less than 3,000 individually numbered bottles.

The Distillers Notes are below:

Colour: Gold, with little beading

Description: A mild-mannered, more mature Talisker, still with plenty of personality and unmistakable character. Can Talisker be subtle? This one is. It’s an elegant, scented malt that is simple in structure with all its basic elements easily accessible.
Nose: The softly muted character of age. Mild and unusually fruity (citrus), fading quickly into lush seaweed with charred sticks - as with a spent fire, in which the charcoal and peat embers barely glow. Soon becoming soft and very slightly waxy or creamy, like fudge. Just a drop of water freshens things, bringing up drying wooden fish boxes and a return of the tangy fruit (tart plums). Then it all drifts away into charred old wood.

Palate: Drinks well at full strength and has a pleasant, teeth-coating texture. The smoke is immediate and dry with creamy oak. Almond milk and light, sweet stone fruits emerge, joined by a trace of salt, as with peat moss in the rain or seaweed. Adding a little water brings up a pleasant smooth texture. It’s now quite sweet to start but less so overall, with some salt and a trace of cloves.

Finish: Long and gently warming, with salty seaweed in the lingering maritime aftertaste and just a white pepper tingle on the tongue in place of that chilli pepper ‘catch’.

So what did I think?

Well again, I like to think I could immediately tell it was a Talisker. Reading through my scribbled notes taken that afternoon I wrote that this had the most amazing nose with a salty tang, and a sweetness that was just delicious and a finish with a peaty afterglow. Again it was comfortable to drink at cask strength and well balanced between sweetness and saltines, but at around £250 a bottle I'm afraid that this will be out of my price range for a while yet, but given the opportunity to taste this again, I'm grabbing it!

Whisky Discovery #46

Talisker 25 Year Old (54.8% abv OB Bottled 2009)
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.

The impressive line up in the Friends of Classic Malts Lounge

The Talsiker 25 Year Old is a limited edition, natural cask strength single malt whisky each batch will be slightly different from batch to batch, but always from American Oak and European Oak refill casks, and each release is limited to circa 6,000 individually numbered bottles.

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.

Whisky Discovery #16

Talisker 10 Year Old (45.8% abv, OB, Bottled +/- 2011 70cl)

Islay Single Malt Whisky

Circa £25

July's official addition

Talisker’s signature bottling, and my official July addition to my collection. 

Made on the shores of the Isle of Skye, you can sense seawater saltiness alongside this malt’s peaty smokiness. It tastes of dried fruit in a smoke surround with barley malt flavours followed by a warm, peppery, sweet finish.

I love it and am keen to try more from this distillery!

April 2013 update

I wrote this almost two years ago and was just six months into my whisky journey. This bottle has long gone, but I have been fortunate to try some fantastic whisky from Talisker since writing this post (this was written pre-blogging days and was part of my original liquid log) trying both the Talisker 25 and Talisker 30 at the first show Kat and I ever attended, Whisky Live 2012. I've also tasted the 57º North, however the 18 Year Old and Distiller's Edition have alluded me so far, but are both on my list to buy 

We've recently been sent some new Talisker releases to review and reading back through these notes for the 10 Year Old decided I really ought to do something about this post, and so went out and revisited the 10 Year Old, was it still as good as I remembered?

So What Did I Think?

Firstly I was pleased to note that I still enjoyed it. There's a real maritime note to this malt with a definite seafood liquor note to it reminding me of raw seafood being prepared, sitting on a plate ready to be cooked, raw tiger prawns, squid, sea bass and mackerel, our kitchen is often full of these ready to be tossed into the wok. Beach camp-fire notes start to creep through the smell of the sea, salty driftwood smouldering. The spicy white pepper eventually shows itself after a little while in the glass.

On the palate there's a gentle sweetness of honey at first before the spicy white pepper builds up it's presence, The beach camp-fire gives up a charred wood taste and I could detect soft notes of wild fennel. The gentle smoke and white pepper remain on the long finish that has a pinch of salt too. The empty glass on the following morning smells of that beach camp-fire again, though it's been left to die out overnight now.

So yes, it's still as good as I remembered it and should get a bottle for the shelf again soon. However my shelf is overflowing and I really want a bottle of DE or 18 Year Old first, and if my lottery numbers came up last night, might even run out for a bottle of the 35 Year Old that I missed at last years Whisky Exchange Whisky Show, but I wouldn't hold your breath!