I’m sure some of you may have noticed that last week we did not have a review, this is because unfortunately I was not able to cover for my co-presenters like I often do. I literally had nothing to go on. It was okay though because I made sure things were in place for this week. Except they decided to go to Pax East (which due to not being able to get a ticket and work I am unable to attend), and completely botch any way of getting things done right.
Then again I suppose that’s par for the course. I honestly understand what it’s like to be James May from Top Gear, forced to work with a tall orangutan, an annoying loud American, and Justice, who thought reviewing scotch meant making a pool of it – though to be fair – only some say that. So then what am I to do. Oh right you already know from the title.
Yes I decided well than if they can’t do anything right than I’m just going to drink scotch and be the adult. So in my quest to try scotches I’ve never had – I bought a bottle of Talisker 10yr. A scotch that comes from the Isle of Skye – which is an island – in Scotland. To be honest though I’m not completely thrilled by Talisker, it just doesn’t do anything that other scotches don’t do better. Don’t get me wrong it certainly is an an enjoyable scotch. I’m not sure how it fairs against other ‘Island’ scotches, but against other single malts I’m not sure how it would be as they say ” a scotch of choice” – I mean sure if you’ve had nothing else and are boring than I guess, but where’s the fun in that.
They’ve got a lot of their own text so I’ll leave my thoughts to the scores (since they’re all mine anyway)
What they say: “Front of Box/Bottle:
From the western shores of the Isle of Skye, in the tall shadows of the Cuillin Hills, comes a single malt like no other. An alluring, sweet, full-bodied spirit with a warming afterglow; so easy to enjoy ye, like Skye itself, so hard to leave.
Back of Box:
Talisker, made beside Lock Harport in the jagged shadow of the Cuillin range, is the only single malt whisky from the Isle of Skye.
A soft, smoky nose introduces an enticing, sweet taste. Full bodied and smooth, this muscular malt also has a robust, deep intensity. It has a long, richly warming finish.
Founded in 1830, the distillery keeps faith with traditional values. Surviving a disastrous fire in 1960 the distillery was rebuilt around exact copies of the old pot stills and worm tubs, preserving a method of distillation found nowhere else. And today Talisker is for many the complete, even the only single malt.
Talisker of one of the six CLASSIC MALTS from Scotland’s malt whisky making regions. They are Talisker – Island, Glenkinchie – Lowland, Dalwhinnie – Highland, Cragganmore – Speyside, Oban – West Highland, Lagavulin – Islay.”
Taste: 5 – The initial taste is almost non-existant. It just sort of glides down barely registering, it’s not awful but it really only shows up for a few seconds and dissipates.
Aftertaste: 7.5 – Here you get some power, this certainly has a hell of a taste. It’s not mind blowingly good, and it’s not like an Islay where it’s straight peat. It’s a good blend of smoke and peat. Why the high score then? Because it lingers for so long, and that lingering taste? Fantastic.
Burn/Smooth: 6 – Sure it’s more punch then burn, but this certainly does not go down smooth.
Aroma: 7– It’s just got that really nice drink me peat kind of smell.
Honesty: 7.5 – Of course being a scotch this gets a little more points, and trust me the box/bottle leave very little to be desired. However the scotch comes from Skye (note Highland/Islay tend to be “stronger” scotches). Make no mistake this feels classy – though the Lat/Long numbers on the box seem gimmicky, plus it tries to have an emboss of Scotland, but you can barely tell it’s there. Compared to the 16 year – which Justice has purchased, it’s not a pinnacle of quality.
Mixability: 6.75
w/ Rocks: 7 – It turns that aftertaste into a much nicer taste overall, but it takes away too much of the power in exchange for the burn disappearing.
Rusty Nail: 6.5 – It’s sweet and it’s smooth, but it loses too much of the scotch to be a truly great Rusty Nail.
Value: 4.5 – At $55 a pop (although prices can seem to get 10/20 bucks lower if you find the right place) it’s still a little out of a good price range for a 10 year single malt.
Google Shop Average: $55
Website: http://www.malts.com/
Reviewer Score:
BuffaloJern: 6.5
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Metric Score: 44.25/70 |+| Metric Average: 6.32
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Final Thoughts:
It’s a good solid single malt, but at the end of the day it’s not one of my favorites, and while it claims to be a “Classic Malt” it’s only the best of island scotches whereas Oban (West Highland Classic Malt) and others fare much better.
