Talisker 18 Year Old
Spicy, Maritime, Costal2024-02-18
"Made by the Sea" is the motto under which Talisker is distilled and marketed. The entire marketing strategy is based on this principle. This fits wonderfully, because the maritime notes can also be directly assigned during blind tasting. It doesn't matter whether we have Talisker 8, Talisker 10 or Talisker 18 in the glass.
Talisker always has a special signature, a real character - rough seas in a glass. The 18 year old takes this signature to a perfectly balanced composition.
Smell
Smoky like vanilla cigarillos, later greeted by slightly mossy oak. Exceptionally balanced and pleasant on the nose. Small salty accents evoke memories of the Baltic Sea beach in the rain. On the fruity side, we find oranges and peaches refined with a hint of marzipan.
Taste
The almost two-decade-old whisky is soft and flattering, with a minimal and subtle smoke that is reminiscent of charcoal in a fire basket. The oranges and peach from the nose are present in the mid-palate with a little rock sugar and subtle sea salt. Interesting chalky notes as well as some earthy aromas and vanilla round off the flavour.
Finish
Sweet and salty, we feel the Talisker on the palate for a long time. Light tannins follow, but sweet vanilla remains at the front of the tongue. The Talisker chilli catch is of course also noticeable, but not as prominent as in other bottlings.
Thoughts
The Talisker 18 was once honoured as the Best Single Malt Whisky in the World. We certainly have a top-class single malt Scotch whisky in our glass here. Balanced, elegant, yet a little "dirty" and cheeky, the Talisker signature is played to perfection. For us, clearly Champions League among the standard bottlings - but the winner? We'll leave that open ...
Rating: 91/100 - World Class (Marcel: 91 | Sascha: 91)
Value for Money: 3/5 - Acceptable
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