Talisker 12 Years Old (43%)

A distillery bottling of Talisker, a 12 year old and bottled at 43%. Opened at Carbost in 1831 at Carbost on the Isle of Skye, Talisker is the maritime malt of Skye. Water comes from the Cnoc nan Speireag, the Hawk Hill, springs above the distillery.

The spirit was made in tall pot stills with purifier loops and worm tubs, from medium peated malt, for a smoky, oily, peppery spirit. Maturation came in ex-Bourbon wood, vanilla beneath the maritime smoke. Around the mid teens the malt knits smoke, salt and pepper into a fuller whole. Long ageing turns the smoke gentle while the pepper lingers. The unusual two wash and three spirit still set up is a relic of triple distillation, dropped in 1928. An old visitors book records guests calling since the turn of the last century. Medium peated malt from Glen Ord gives the smoke, the water from the Hawk Hill springs. After a stillhouse fire in 1960, the five stills were rebuilt as exact replicas.

At 43% it is supple and smoky. Sea brine, smoke and a black pepper kick ride over light oak sweetness beneath the peat. The mouthfeel is oily, the smoke carried on a peppery body. A long, briny finish ends on black pepper. This is Skye's famous peppery single malt.