Talisker 2000 Distillers Edition

Talisker Distillers Edition (Distilled 2000, bottled 2011)

Talisker whiskey is created beside Loch Harport, in the “…jagged shadow of the Cullin range, on the Isle of Skye.” (from the Talisker website). The Distillers Edition is finished in Amoroso sherry Casks.

Colour: Chestnut brown

Nose: a strong sultana/Demerara-sugar sweetness, with a subtle smokiness and sea-salt

Palate: Rich, complex, and smooth; peat smoke, mellow sea-salt, sweet sherry notes, malt, honeyed-heather. Viscous, but not creamy.

Finish: Long; Turkish coffee, vanilla. Dry, a suggestion of sea breeze, and the delightful nip of Talisker pepper.

Final notes: adding a few drops of water opened up the whisky’s flavor profile, setting free the aroma of Turkish coffee, but I prefer to drink it neat. The sherry finish is nicely married to the sea-salt tang and creates depths that roll in waves of flavour on the palate; unfortunately, it was a special purchase by the B.C. Liquor Stores, and it will be difficult to find another bottle. I don’t see the sense in comparing this (favourably/unfavourably) to the 10 YO; rather, I think both expressions should be enjoyed as excellent offerings.

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