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Talisker 10 Year Old

Heat from the island

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@RantavahtiReview by @Rantavahti

14th Mar 2013

0

Talisker 10 Year Old
  • Nose
    20
  • Taste
    19
  • Finish
    21
  • Balance
    19
  • Overall
    79

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Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

Talisker 10 year old is a rugged whisky from the Isle of Skye. I think it's generally very liked and even I noticed that it is versatile. But some ingredients in the taste and aromas pulled me away from it. It's hard to explain, what were the exact tasting notes that didn't fit into my palate. Maybe it was a taste of olives, which I read from another review in here (I really hate olives and it somehow fits in the taste I felt). I'm not completely sure what it was but something stingy and stale rocked my boat in a bad way. One of my friends call Talisker 10's taste "dusty" but I don't agree with that.

For me Talisker 10 year old is like the movie Heat. Very much appreciated and with an allstar cast but something leaves me cold. People (especially men) always seem surprised when I tell them, I didn't like Heat. Even though it had the great Al Pacino, my alltime favorite actor.

The worst part of my tasting and movie experience are that I can't explain thoroughly, why I didn't like Talisker 10 or Heat. Both are classics of their kind. And they both have lots of character. In fact, Talisker 10 had probably the richest aftertaste I've tasted. I just didn't like it that much.

So in a conclusion: Spicy and characteristic Talisker is easy to fall in love with. It gives you Heat. It just wasn't my 'cup of tea'

Nose: Salty peat stays in the background while the liquor with spicy notes takes over. This has a seafood feel, like stuffy oysters. And maybe the olives?

Taste: A mix of sweet and spicy notes. Peppers with dry syrup and ginger. Something ruined the taste for me and I guess I have to blame olives until a better explanation comes along.

Finish: Peppers explode in your throat. Warming barley with lots of sweet spots as well. If you keep on chewing, you'll find lots of different flavors in the aftertaste. My senses aren't that sophisticated that I could thoroughly spot 'em for you. Take notice of my 22 points in finish even though I didn't like the taste. That's how lasting and complex it was.

Balance: Complex and versatile, especially the finish is rich and very long. For people who love spicy whisky (but not for me). Finish and balance were the best parts for me.

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3 comments

@Victor
Victor commented

Was this from a new bottle? Bar sample? I ask, because of the 8 or so Talisker 10's I've sampled, I might as well have been drinking 8 different whiskies. Also, my own primary bottle of it changed dramatically after it was open about 7 months, losing a lot of the pepper and gaining a lot of honey. I like it best now, and I like it very much now, however, when it was first opened my enthusiasm for it would have been pretty similar to yours.

11 years ago 0

@talexander
talexander commented

I agree with you, @Victor. Fresh out of the bottle it is one of my favourite go-to whiskies. But when I order it from bars, I'm always a little disappointed (though never to the degree I would rate it a 76). I had a dram last night at The Caledonian in Toronto (a great place!) and it too had lost some pepper, and gained some sweetness with honey, and also seemed to have a little more sherry influence.

11 years ago 0

@Rantavahti
Rantavahti commented

@Victor This was from a new bottle (0,2l) that I bought into my cabinet. And I drank the whole bottle rather quickly, in 1 month or so. That's interesting to hear from, maybe a 0,7l bottle would have given me a more sweetier Talisker with time. I guess I have to give Talisker 10 another chance at our local whisky bar.

11 years ago 0