Product Description

This 1978-vintage Talisker is the first entry in the Bodega Series, a range of whiskies showcasing the distilleries connection with sherry houses and sherry casks since its 1830 founding. This inaugural entry is a marriage of five sherry butts, filled for about three months with 40-year-old Talisker. Before arriving in Scotland, the casks were part of a solera, maturing Delgado Zuleta's award-winning Quo Vadis amontillado sherry.

It's incredibly rare to see solera casks used to mature Scotch whisky, and even rarer for the ancient casks to have been used to create one of Spain's finest sherries. The result is a whisky that combines the elegance of well-aged Talisker with the fruity complexity of Quo Vadis. An impressive whisky.

Style

4
Body
5
Richness
2
Smoke
3
Sweetness

Character

Sultana
Orange
Salt (powder)
Oil
Oak
Smoke

Food Pairing

Our wine expert, head buyer and experienced sommelier Dawn Davies MW, recommends Talisker 1978 to bring out the best in these dishes.

Chinese
Lobster
Smoked Fish

Product Facts

Bottler
Distillery Bottling
Series
Bodega
Age
40 Year Old
Vintage
1978
No of Bottles
2000
Country
Scotland
Region
Island
Cask Type
Delgado Zuleta Sherry Butt Finish

Talisker 1978 40 Year Old Bodega Series

Island Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Distillery Bottling

70cl / 50%

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How We Pack

Eco-friendly packaging
Our boxes are made of 100% recyclable cardboard and our protective honeycomb paper wrap keeps your package safe and significantly reduces our need for plastic.
Flexible delivery options
We deliver to countries all over the world! You can also select express delivery, or pick a specific delivery date, at checkout.
Packed with care
Our experienced warehouse team take great care with every order. As specialists in glass packaging they ensure that your items stay safe and secure in transit.

Returns

30-Day returns policy

We want you to be 100% happy with your order and it is our aim to ensure that all products supplied to all customers arrive in perfect condition. You have the right to cancel your order at any time without being charged for the goods ordered within 30 days of purchasing (other than for perishable or personalised products or those products that have been specified as non-returnable).

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Disclaimer

While we endeavour to provide full and accurate information on our website, there may be occasions where producers have updated their recipe or failed to provide full details of their ingredients and processes. This may affect factors including the product style and allergen information, and we would advise that you always check the label and not solely rely on the information presented here. If you are at all uncertain about a product then please contact our customer service team before purchase.

Tasting Notes

Tasting notes by Billy Abbott
- Nose
  Sandalwood and cedar, old and elegant wood with fruit touches and a pinch of white pepper. Toffee apples wash over the wood, accompanied by a spoonful of jammy berries. Then the Talisker notes make themselves known: sea spray, black pepper and a spritz of lemon juice. Behind that lie hints of honeysuckle, a touch of waxiness and an air of incense.
- Palate
  Sweet, with the waxiness more forward than on the nose and the white pepper tingling to start. Sweet oak bursts through them middle dragging black pepper and baking spices behind. Fruit develops: apples, pears and white peach. Behind sits a pool of creamy toffee, spiced up with orange zest and a touch of citrus oil. A menthol tingle sits right at the back.
- Finish
  Candied pears and black pepper fade to sharp apples with a squeeze of lemon. Sandalwood and incense linger.
- Comment
  Old and elegant Talisker but with a little extra – a touch of unexpected spice, a different feel to the fruit, a different type of pepperiness. An incredible opportunity to see the influence of a solera cask on an excellent whisky.
Producer's Tasting Notes
- Appearance
  Deep, limpid gold. Good beading.
- Nose
  Mild and rich, with light nose prickle. The sweet fruitiness of sultanas and pears in syrup, then orange peel, framed in oiled sandalwood, with a salty suggestion of seaweed or sea air in the middle, on a base of faintly smoky raw sugar. Water brings up a buttery note of short crust pastry and a waxy hint.
- Body
  Medium, rich.
- Palate
  Most appealing. At natural strength, the texture is very fine; oil-smooth and lightly coating. The taste starts sweetly fruity – white grapes, more sultanas – then becomes sea-salty and savoury, before finishing hot and peppery. As the sweet waves of flavour roll out across the palate, they break over a hint of that Talisker trademark, hot chilli spice, and some scented smoke. There's great balance and vigour throughout. Adding water may tame the fire a little, but the lion remains wild at heart.
- Finish
  Long and warming, with a late, great tongue-tingling nuttiness in the embers as the fire slips down, and a last smoky trace of snuffed candle.