Whisky Discovery #114

Talisker 57° North NAS (57.8% abv, OB Bottled 2012 70cl)
Island Single Malt Whisky
Circa £50.00 70cl

Talisker 57ºN alongside Caol Ila 12 Year Old

The second dram of the Magnificent Seven Master Class at The Whisky Lounge Midlands Fest at Stratford upon Avon. Colin Dun, Diageo Ambassador Supremo had us comparing the nose of the Cardhu 12 year old to this to demonstrate the differences between different whiskies, but after we had finished the Cardhu, we moved onto this 'no age statement' from Talisker. Made for a range of ages of three years and older, all of the distilled spirit has been matured in first fill American oak casks. Talisker is produced in the Isle of Skye, and this expression is named after the distillerys' latitudinal position. 


I was really looking forward to tasting this, as I love the Talisker I have tasted to date. I bought my myself a bottle of their 10 year old a while back now, and was fortunate to taste both their 25 Year Old and 30 Year Old expressions at the Whisky Live show in London

So what did I think?
Initially a mossy, musty wood on the nose - although by no means unpleasant. There were hints of seaweed and vanilla and a light smokiness that I really like. Eventually I was getting the creamy toffee sweetness through it. In the mouth it was intense and smoky - lovely! Sweet initially with the signature spicy pepperiness at the end. It was being described as having a chilli fiery heat, but Kat and I looked at each other and said that they have never tasted any of Mum's hot Thai food, and so probably couldn't really appreciate what hot chillies really feel like!   A splendid dram and certainly affordable and one that will need to grace my whisky shelf before too long, it's on my wish list and with a birthday coming up soon (subtle hint family members!)