Talisker 45 Years Old

A distillery bottling of Talisker, aged 45 year old and bottled at 49.8%. Only 2455 bottles were released. Talisker was opened at Carbost in 1831 by Loch Harport, beneath the Cuillin hills; for nearly two centuries it was the only distillery on Skye. Its 10 year old was chosen as the Island malt of Diageo's Classic Malts series.

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. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, the wood adding a light sweetness under the peat. At this great age the smoke is gentle and the malt waxy, the pepper a warm memory. Sea air works into the warehouses by Loch Harport, lending a saline thread. After a stillhouse fire in 1960, the five stills were rebuilt as exact replicas. The distillery faces the water across to the hills of Skye. Talisker is made by the sea, and matured within reach of the salt air.

Bottled at a cask strength 49.8%, it is intense. A coastal peat smoke and a peppery lift ride over a gentle vanilla under the smoke. The texture is oily and full, the smoke threaded with salt. Pepper and sea salt see out a long finish. This is Talisker's smoky, peppery Skye style.