Yesterday marked 17 years of WhiskyNotes…
For this anniversary I dug up tasting notes of a Talisker Pure Malt bottle that was opened for a masterclass by The Whisky Exchange. Some sources seem to date this Talisker bottle conservatively as 1960s but others (including Sukhinder Singh) seemed to think it may well have been a 1950s bottle. In any case it would have been distilled at the original Talisker distillery that was destroyed by fire in 1960.
This label style would have been around since the 1940s or so in different versions, but around 1960 there was an 8yo, 12yo and this no-age version. Some bottlings are 40-43% – here we have a higher strength release at 80° Proof which equals 45.8%.
Talisker Pure Malt Whisky (80° Proof, OB +/- 1960)
Nose: surprisingly fresh, with just mild coal smoke and much more worn leathery notes. Also old (polished) cupboard wood and forgotten tools in an old car workshop. Then also a mild hint of ripe mango and pineapple, mixed with subtle spearmint. Very light hints of cappuccino and honey in the distance, as well as sweet coastal elements and polished brassware. There’s an echo of that typical black pepperiness as well, I swear.
Mouth: oily and chewy, with a little more peat smoke now, as well as some dark herbs and hints of burnt sugar. There’s a wonderful bittersweet drop in the middle, almost savoury as well. Then walnuts, sweet blackcurrant jam, herbal teas, hints of Seville oranges but otherwise less fruits.
Finish: long finish, with more of that dark sweetness, hints of coffee beans, smoked tea and liquorice. Maybe a hint of cough syrup.
Lovely! You know, the mix of gentle peat with sweet pepper… this is clearly Talisker. Yet it’s clearly from a different era as well. That soft leathery peat is marvellous. A great experience, technically from a different distillery than modern Talisker but having some similarities as well.