Talisker 25 Years Old (58.1%)

An official Talisker single malt matured to 25 year old and bottled at 58.1%. 6894 bottles in all. Talisker was built in 1831 at Carbost by Loch Harport, beneath the Cuillin hills, and it remains Skye's most famous distillery. Talisker is made by the sea, its character drawn from the wild Skye coast.

It was drawn off stills whose looped lyne arms and worm tubs build a rich, oily spirit, from peated malt, for a smoky, coastal spirit with a chilli kick. Maturation in Oloroso sherry laid smoked dried fruit over the peat. Beyond twenty years the smoke turns gentle, the malt oily and deep with dried fruit and soft pepper. Coastal warehousing gives the malt its mineral, sea spray lift. The worm tubs build the full, oily body that carries the smoke and pepper. For most of its life Talisker stood alone on Skye, until Torabhaig opened in 2017.

Undiluted at 58.1%, it is deep and smoky. The Oloroso brings smoked dried fruit and a nutty depth, and a smoky, briny depth with a chilli catch sit over a gentle vanilla under the smoke. It is rich and smoky, the brine and oak well matched. A long, peppery finish smoulders to the end. This is the wild maritime malt of Skye.