Reviewed by @sengjc

0 180/100

Poured from one of the three 20cl bottles packaged in the Classic Malts 'Coastal' gift set. To be honest, I bought the gift set to share something I experienced from the Whisky Live 2013 Melbourne with the missus: oysters freshly shucked with a twist, add a few drops of whisky (about 5) and slurp down. The Caol Ila 12 YO in the pack seems to work the best so might as well drink the others if they are not destined to be used as a condiment for "Highland-style" oyster naturale.

Glass: Glencairn

Just poured: Nose: Brine and peat. Intense, estery but not overpowering - delicious. Reminiscent of the aroma of anchovies and pitted olives. There is a savoury character to it.

Palate: A profusion of sweet and salty. Spiciness and pepper. A slight menthol note on the mid palate then becoming dry and salty. Nice tangy peat and a whiff of smoke.

Finish: Salty, fresh and expanding. I am getting an eucalypt note then barley-coconut. Not particulately long but it is good enough.

Not adding water to this, I like it the way it is.

A touch less smooth in delivery when compared to the Talisker Storm but I believe I enjoy this more. An excellent aperitif.

@jeffilli commented:

oysters and 5 drops of whisky! Glad I read this review. I Learned something new!

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Reviewed by @PeatyZealot

0 087/100

Color: who cares? There is E150 in it so we cant say anything about what the color represents.

Nose: Bit alcoholic without water so for the full aroma add a few drops, dont worry its 45,8 :) Lots of smoke, not so much peat, farm smells, beachfoam, camomile tea, oliveoil, new leather, salt, shoeshine, wet wood and something chalky

Arrival: opens up really fast and strong with big oak, leather, salt, but does'nt give its secrets rightaway, keep it in your mouth!

Development: Pepper, beef jerky, more wood, spices, dry vanilla, dark bread, little bit of peat, lots of black pepper and whop all of a sudden its gone, the developement stops, it loses taste and its obviously time to gobble it down the hatch. But a nice sweet,salt, dry balance.

Finish: nice peppery burn goes into a campfire smoke, peaty ash with a nice, sweet barley caramel undertone. Not too long and a little creamy in the end:)

Overall: I think this was the first ever single malt I tried before I knew absolutely nothing about whisky and/or how to drink it. I think I had some Jack, Johnny and Chivas before but nothing fancy. Ordered it after dinner and was just blown away by its complex, balanced and brutal nature. Now after tasting lots of other (Islay) malts I came back to it and I still love it for what it is. I can get this in Holland for €27,- Is Ardbeg 10 really €13-17,- better? Great bang for the buck and a respectable classic thats available everywhere nowadays. ps: I had a Rochefort 10 (Belgian Quadruple beer) next to it and its amazing how the tastes connect.

Price/quality wise it goes right into the Coal Ila 12, Laphroaig 10... thats it really.

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Reviewed by @talexander

0 292/100

Some time ago I posted a review of the Distiller's Edition (which was part of a Talisker 3-Pack I acquired). Now it's time for the ubiquitous Talisker 10.

A shimmering light golden honey colour. Nose has, first and foremost, peat on the front, but also honey, vanilla, white pepper, raisin, all carried by a salty breeze. Very clean and refreshing.

It has a dry mouthfeel but the palate is beautiful. The peat goes more toward the back and is fronted by lemon zest, some cereal notes, maltiness, honey, dates and those raisins. Delicious!

A long, smoky, lingering finish. This is fantastically balanced between smoke, salt and fruitiness. And water brings everything out!

I could never tire of this one - I love it! But I may love the 57 Degrees North Talisker even more - I'll have that review in the coming weeks...

@bfb commented:

The latest bottles of Talisker bear no resemblance to previous batches. It can leave a nasty taste in your mouth. If you like the taste of bile, then buy the latest batch, if not, I suggest buying something else. I used to love Talisker but I'll be taking a break from it until I can be assured that it tastes good again and/or Diageo give the brand to somebody competent. Complaining to Diageo is a complete waste of your time and money as they won't even send you enough to reimburse you for the bottle you return to them and then they ignore your emails.