Talisker Dark Storm

Talisker Dark Storm is matured in "heavily charred casks", possesses no age statement, and is sold in Travel Retail/Duty Free stores. The reviewed bottle is owned by @Maddie. Thank you @Maddie for this sample and many others. It was tasted when freshly opened and then again 3 weeks later

Nose: a delightful nose of moderate peat, a little smoke, some Talisker brine, and maybe a little wine included. Also wonderful with water added. Score: 23.5/25 with and without water added

Taste: all of the flavours are more sharp-edged in the mouth than in the nose; otherwise a good translation of the wonderful nose flavours. If there is some sherry here it is not immaculate, but is of acceptable quality. Water added bundled the flavours. Score: 22/25 with and and without water

Finish: long slow fade-out, with too much bitterness arriving late.This bitterness could be coming from any combination of peat, wood, or sherry. Water added lessened the bitterness. Score: 20/25 neat; 21.5/25 with water added

Balance: very good in the nose; good on the delivery; only fair on the finish; 21.5/25 neat; 22/25 with water added; 22.5 out of a brandy snifter rather than a glencairn

Total Sequential Score: 89 points

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Strength: very strong in all phases (from a brandy snifter). Score: 23/25

Quality: very good malt, peat, and smoke; flawed sherry. Score: 22/25

Variety: lots of variety throughout. Score: 23/25

Harmony: works even with imperfect sherry; I liked it much better in a brandy snifter than in a Glencairn glass. Score: 21.5/25

Total Non-Sequential Score: 89.5 points

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Comment: Wow! My two tastings of this whisky were quite a trip. I have experienced EXTREME variations before in tasting Talisker 57 North from different glass designs, but I was still unprepared for the experience of tasting this whisky twice 3 weeks apart in duration, from different glasses. When the bottle was freshly opened I drank it from a brandy snifter, and loved it much above typical review scores for this particular whisky. My initial score was 92 points. Three weeks later I tasted it again and many things had gone wrong. Was this merely the product of 3 weeks of air time? Then I thought about changing glasses, and I once again liked Dark Storm much more than I did out of a Glencairn glass. Drinking it again a second time out of a medium-sized brandy snifter I like Dark Storm almost as much as I had at first. So, reader be advised: this is an 89 point whisky to me out of a brandy snifter, but only an 85 point whisky for me out of a Glencairn! I will drink all future samples of Talisker Dark Storm from a snifter

And yes, I do prefer Talisker Dark Storm to Talisker Storm, though Storm is perfectly OK too

I'm working from home on a Friday afternoon, so thought I'd take a break for a little review. I'm on the last heel of a 1L bottle of Talisker Dark Storm, purchased at auction some months ago but otherwise only available at duty free. I presume that this is basically Talisker Storm (both are NAS) matured in heavily charred casks. I have a bottle of Talisker 10 Year Old as well, so let's try them side-by-side.

The colour is a medium amber. On the nose, it's like standard Talisker but upped a few notches: big oak, black liquorice, freshly ground black pepper, prunes, mint, cayenne and dark chocolate. Cumin, brine and pretty intense peat smoke - seems smokier than other Taliskers I've had. Lemon curd. Maltier and spicier with water. Not subtle, but then again what would you expect from a Talisker called Dark Storm?

Creamy on the palate, with hot spices, chunky oak and lots of peat. Baked apples with cinnamon (and more cumin). Woody hickory. Very salty of course, with more of that classic liquorice note. Here you also notice more of the vanilla/caramel from the bourbon casks. Water makes the malt oilier and brings out the char - is this from Tennessee??

The finish is surprisingly gentle - too gentle, with a bit of oak, pepper and liquorice, and not much else. If Talisker 10 got picked up at a bar by Jack Daniel's, whisked away to Islay and got knocked up on the malting floor at Lagavulin, the bastard baby would be this: Oaky, smoky and oily with liquorice, malt and big fat bourbon notes. I like this a lot - but still, it's no Talisker 10. Speaking of which, how do they compare? Side by side, the Dark Storm has more power and wood, but I prefer the 10's (relative) subtlety and fruitier notes. Regardless, if you are a Talisker fan, this is worth picking up and giving it a try (and it's much better than the standard Storm).

I was lucky enough to win 2 bottles of Dark Storm on a recent auction site which is great because it was only available as a travel retail bottling and I don't fly that much. This whisky is matured in heavily charred casks and that has produced a very unique Talisker to my mind. The nose has loads of smoke along with the signature salty Talisker characteristics. Although this is a NAS I would suggest that it is quite well aged. On the palette is very creamy with the characteristic spice and vanilla we have grown to love. It is the finish which really distinguishes this whisky. It is sooty and drying with a great length. In some ways this reminds me of Lagavulin 16. All in all a fab whisky and one that any Talisker lover needs to seek out and try.

Talisker distillery is the only distillery on the Isle of Skye and was founded in 1830 by Hugh and Kenneth MacAskill, sons of the local doctor. It was rebuilt between 1880 and 1887, and was extended in 1900. In 1925 the distillery was acquired by the Distillers Company Ltd and today is part of Diageo. In 1972 the stills were converted to steam heating and the maltings floor was demolished. Talisker distillery is famous for its stills’ swan neck lye pipes: A loop in the pipes takes the vapour from the stills to the worm tubs, so that some of the alcohol condenses before it even reaches the cooler; it then runs back into the stills and is distilled again. Dark Storm was released in 2013 as a non-age statement expression exclusively for travel retail. Diageo described it as the smokiest Talisker to date as heavily charred casks were used during the maturation process.

The nose is bold and smoky. Smoked ham is rather prominent, together with lemons and banana. Later on, hints of liquorice and menthol appear.

The palate is medium-bodied, creamy, and lightly spicy. Vanilla flavours come to the fore, followed by caramel and apples. At the end there is a little bit of the ubiquitous chili kick, but just faintly so.

The finish is of medium length, smoky and just a little spicy. Vanilla and caramel are back, together with black pepper and brine.

There is no doubt that the heavily charred casks have contributed significantly to the flavours of this Talisker expression. While this certainly is a heavily peated whisky, it is also unexpectedly creamy and fruity and much less complex than the expressions from the core range. This was nice to try but personally I prefer the more austere versions such as the 18-year old.