Two 12 yo Talisker, indie vs official


January 3, 2024

WF's Little Duos, today two
12 yo Talisker, indie vs. official

Waldhaus

Hotel Waldhaus am See in St. Moritz

We've tasted quite a few new Taliskers in 2023, in particular the grand and rather amusing 45-year-old 'Glacial Edge' (what a story, those iced casks!) and the new 46-year-old 'Prima & Ultima', both rated WF 93. But we hadn't yet tasted the Special Release 2023... Are we still on time? But first, a sparring partner, as we always do.

Talisker 12 yo 2011/2023 (56.3%, Douglas Laing, Single Minded for World of Whisky Waldhaus, Claudio Bernasconi 'The Experience', refill hogshead, cask #DL17878, 159 bottles)

Talisker 12 yo 2011/2023 (56.3%, Douglas Laing, Single Minded for World of Whisky Waldhaus am See, Claudio Bernasconi 'The Experience', refill hogshead, cask #DL17878, 159 bottles)

A generational change is underway at the famed Waldhaus hotel in St-Moritz, Engadin, also renowned for its gigantic assortment of whiskies to taste at the bar and its own bottlings, such as this Talisker selected by the 'experienced generation', shall we say. Colour: white wine. Nose: it's a somewhat brutal Talisker, with acetone and burnt rubber initially, then fresh rhubarb juice and kiwi, without too many coastal or even smoky tones for now. But it's still quite magnificent and a bit of water should 'put the church back in the middle of the village', as we say. With water: it becomes very maritime, very fresh, with seafood, an old ashtray, some worn ropes, and a bit of low tide sea water. Mouth: here we are on classic Talisker, with oysters covered with plenty of mill-ground pepper. With water: there we have it! Magnificent lemon, peppermint, pure peat, and sea water. Finish: very long, very vertical, slightly mustardy too. A bit of lemon liqueur in the aftertaste. Comments: all these 2008 to 2011 by both branches of the family were quite superlative. We adore their rather absolute purity.
SGP:567 - 90 points.

Talisker 12 yo 'The Wild Explorador' (59.7%, OB, Special Release 2023, White, Tawny and Ruby Port Finish)

Well, they've certainly put Talisker through its paces in recent years, with a huge variety of cask finishes. But Talisker is a big boy, it can always hold its own... Colour: pale gold. Nose: inevitably, after a Talisker of the same age but completely natural, the sojourn in these Port casks, inevitably sweet, is even more apparent by contrast. Rest assured, there's no tenfold raspberry and blackcurrant jams, but still sultanas and figs initially, before the coastal power takes the lead again, without completely eradicating the sweet wine. There are very pretty notes of black nougat. Or rather of turrón, since we are in the Iberian Peninsula (sort of). With water: salty and peppery walnut liqueur. Mouth (neat): it's amusing, the Port has added notes of dry sherry, with walnuts upfront, but also a bit of moscatel. Is it the white Port speaking? With water: we return to Skye, to pepper liqueur, ashes, dry smoke, but also green pepper and simply salt. All this works very well. Finish: long, quite herbaceous, less sugary than I feared. Horseradish and chilli make for a warm and spicy continuation, you could splash some of this Talisker on spaghetti with tomato sauce. Or on some Portuguese dish, I suppose... Comments: so, a Talisker for chefs? The ones who always cook with whisky – and sometimes even add some to the food? It's very, very good, I don't think the Port has softened it too much.
SGP:556 - 88 points.

In any case, these two young gems have shown us, once again, that Talisker has become much peatier (and spicier) in recent years. That's just as well, because we rather like that, don't we?

Check the index of all Talisker we've tasted so far