Talisker 57º North

Awesome review! I can't wait to get my hands on a bottle of it!!

@Squidy, this is "full speed ahead, damn the torpedoes" earthy and not quite the "watching the sun set" refined of, say, Talisker 18. Talisker 57 Degrees North and Talisker 18 are to me for quite different moods, but they are both quite fantastic.

Sweet! I haven't got a chance to try the 18 yet, but I will be next weekend if everything goes right!! However from everything I've seen of Talisker they can do no wrong :D

A friend gave me a good size sample of this a while ago. Loved it, it's currently top of my wishlist. Agree with you on all counts here @Victor. The 18 is no slouch either. Cheers.

@Squidgy, you might enjoy this, a little mythos in the form of a word picture, right from the bottle label of Talisker 57 Degrees North: "From the storm-lashed coast of the Isle of Skye in Scotland's far north comes a more intense Talisker true to its rugged origins, from specially selected casks. A stronger deeper Talisker that's like looking out to sea with a STORM brewing..."

@BlueNote, I wouldn't have known how much I loved Talisker 57 D North if @Pudge72 hadn't given me a couple of samples of it from his Ontario Talisker 3-pack 20 and 12 months ago, when I first met him. Thanks again, @Pudge! All of the Talisker three-packs down here I've seen have included the Talisker 18 and not the 57 D North. Love the 18, too, bigtime, as I've repeatedly said. I was able to buy a few bottles of Talisker 18 here last year at a very inexpensive price. Prices here have recently more than doubled for Talisker 18 and it is tightly allocated now. Carpe diem, whisky-lovers! You really can not assume that a good deal will be there on that same shelf tomorrow!

wow! this one sounds amazing! i want a bottle!!! ^_^ quick, victor, connect me with someone who has the muscle power to get me this bottle! :D

@Victor I love that analogy my friend! I'm working my way through a gift pack of whiskies and while I'm loving it, right now it feels like the last 4 or 5 whiskies I've had were all salt and no pepper. Now I REALLY want some peppers in my whisky!!!

I find it interesting that a duty free store in Ontario carries the 57 North, but the LCBO does not, unless it is part of the rapidly disappearing Talisker Collection. I also find it intriguing that the Talisker Collections sold in the U.S. contain the 18yo, not the 57 North. Wonder what the reason for the difference is? We cracked my small bottle of the 57 North as part of a Talisker Vertical on my birthday, and it was every bit as good as @Victor says it is...I didn't even notice the higher ABV, and there was no burn at all...phenomenal stuff!

Lovely review! I can't wait to taste it! :)

Is it the 'middle of the warehouse' 10 year old at near cask strength, or is something else at work here?

@PeatyZealot, it is hard to say the mix of ages in the 57 North. With no age statement, the distillery has the ability to tweak the whisky any way that they would like. I don't get too concerned about the absence of age statements relative to what I think about the taste of the whisky. After all 95% 30 yo whisky combined with 5% 3 yo whisky is still officially "3 year old whisky". Does calling it "3 year old whisky" tell the tale accurately? Not at all.

Have you sampled any of the 57 North yet, @PeatyZealot?

Talisker 57 Degrees North, second bottle, 1 Litre, from Duty Free in Ontario. This second bottle at first didn't come together like the first 700 ml UK bottle which was reviewed, above. This bottle would have rated only low 80s from me for quite awhile. It is now open for about 2 years and is coming more into its own. I score this second bottle into the 90s now for the first time. 91 or 92. I can now exhale, seeing this improvement, because I bought 3 of these 1 Litre Duty Free bottles. It is GREAT having your Talisker at 57% ABV.