Talisker 30 Year Old Bot.2012

Tasting Notes

• Tasting Notes by the Whisky Exchange

  • Nose

    Coastal notes of sea spray and rock pools, gentle smoke, black pepper and bitter orange.

  • Palate

    Layers of complexity: marmalade, crushed black pepper, sweet fruit and spicy smoke.

  • Finish

    Long, with lingering smoke and fruit.

• Producer's Notes

  • Nose

    Unreduced, unassertive at first. No nose prickle. Opens in a little while to reveal a grapey, red wine note, with faint smoke behind. Adding water softens things and adds a spicy maritime note, leaving just a pleasing clue as to what lies beyond. This is a whisky for the palate, not the nose.

  • Palate

    At bottled strength, a lively yet mature delight, like the favourite uncle you don't get to see often enough. Immediately sweet, peppery and hot, with just the right amount of balancing bitterness and salt, and no rough edges. The sweetness spreads right across the palate. Medium bodied. Drinks beautifully straight. Adding water (just a splash) gives a softer, still sweet start, with waves of warmth riding this tide then subsiding slowly across the palate. Talisker’s trademark chilli catch may be long gone, but the rounded pepper in this expression compensates with a doctor’s bedside manner; it is smooth and assured. Delicious.

• Tasting Notes by Stuart P

  • Nose

    Distinctly Talisker, but elegant and beguiling. Maritime saltiness, a touch of cured meat, bitter oranges, a pleasant whiff of smoke and a subdued pepperiness.

  • Palate

    Plenty of clean salinity at first – this is a lip-smacking whisky! Then come added layers of complexity, with Seville-orange marmalade, crushed black pepper, a slight meatiness and evocative smoke. Rich but refreshing.

  • Finish

    The soft smoke and elegant fruitiness linger for a very long time.

  • Comment

    What is fascinating about this dram is how different it is from younger examples, but that it has so much in common with the 10 and 18 Year Old. The trademark Talisker note of pepper and smoke is there, but everything is softer, mellower, more drawn out. A fascinating whisky, and one that rewards you the longer you contemplate it.