Talisker 57º North

Equating latitude with alcohol content seems quite a clever bit of marketing to sell a young NAS almost cask strength whisky at a moderately inflated price or am I just an old cynic. It’s a good line if the whisky stands up to scrutiny.... Amber gold coloured, as all Taliskers seem to be. Plenty of alcohol pungency on the nose which is to be expected without water. Biscuity malt, smoky pine and some almonds, but not the usual complexities from this distillery.

Viscous and full bodied with a fair amount of alcohol burn, but it’s not too hot to drink neat. Black pepper, ginger, pine smoke, malt, almonds, apricot and vanilla all play a part, but it’s far less open and accessible than other malts from this distillery. The finish is long drying and smoky.

A little water causes a haze to form, and sadly seems to takes all the life out of this malt, I just get a dusty cardboard effect with muted washed flavours. I don’t recommend diluting this malt with more than a few drops of water.

Not my favourite expression of Talisker and not the one I’d recommend, but still a very good malt.

Find where to buy Talisker whisky