whisky review 141 - Talisker Distillers Edition

[NeverendingRobRada]

Ralfy, what was your issue with the Talisker 18? Was it just "not up to snuff"?

I have a ten and an 18 I purchased last summer. They both taste like Talisker.

The 18 is to the ten is what a vintage LA2A limiter is to an audio recording.

Strike that. It's not slewed or compressed and larger where there's room; it's straight up: larger. However, without a side by side, it tastes like Talisker, no issue.

[ralfystuff]

@NeverendingRobRada

my Talisker 18 was a disaster when I bought it, so bad I returned the bottle with a complaint letter. Diageo to their credit dealt with the problem professionally.

[lonegroover]

Top effort, Ralfy. I got some of this for Christmas, along with something called "57 degrees North". Can you recommend a suitable brand of coca-cola for mixing, please?

[ralfystuff]

@lonegroover

dont do it, . . . no mixers, a drop of water will release the incredible flavour. If you really must, add chilled green tea !

[Slears]

@lonegroover u mix such a Highclass Whisky with Cola?!?! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[DubsMood]

@lonegroover hahaha, coca-cola.... ridiculous ;)

[Tampanda]

Wow whisky flooding over chocolate. I would have never ever thought that would be a pleasant combination.

[maxygg]

Hi Ralphy, I just bought Caol Ila Distillers Edition, because I cant find Talisker DI

CI DI is a great improvement over reg CI 12 yr and am trying any distillers editions I can find from Islay that is. Any plans to review CI DI soon?

[ralfystuff]

@maxygg

no plans, but I am looking to review C I 18yo early next year.

[ralfystuff]

@maxygg

no plans, but I am looking to review Caol Ila 18yo early next year.

[MrBlootered]

Hi Ralphy,

You mention in your comments about being dissapointed with Talisker 18 y.o. Could you explain a little? This is one of the 'ace' whisky's from LFW.

[ralfystuff]

@MrBlootered

good point !  .... I bought a bottle last year and it was flat, two-dimentional and very dissapointing. I complained and sent the bottle back for analysis. Though they would not say, I suspect it was a bad batch. But there should not be variences in quality, just a little of the flavour. I can only assume Lochfynewhikies received better quality bolttles than the one I bought at the Oddbins Store. Distillers should sort this problem.

[trunhap]

Do yourself a favor and drop the Lindt. Go out and get Pralus. Head and shoulders above Lindt.

[ralfystuff]

@trunhap

It is expensive ! ... but I will look out for Pralus stuff.



[trunhap]

@ralfystuff

Pralus Le 100%. It is miraculous. Thanks for the excellent reviews!

[vigil12348]

@ralfystuff

On the not so expensive side - the Belgian Cote d'Or Intense or my favorite Cote d'Or Brute are both great option with Talisker. I too recommend it over Lindt. Lindt's not what it used to be.

[Motormax34]

Hello Ralfy, thank you for your videos. Very helpful to me. I have got a question regarding the Talisker DE. Several people on the Internet claim that the current Talisker DE 99 Edition is not as good as the 98 Edition. Somebody even said the 99 DE tastes like bacon ;-). Any thoughts about that?

[ralfystuff]

@Motormax34

... Editions do vary, and are a hot-topic with the 'anoraks' who are increasingly aware of quality variations in Malts ! ... I have not tasted any recent versions of DE Tal, however when a good bottling comes along it is worth buying a second bottle for later if your budget will cope !

[Motormax34]

@ralfystuff Thank for your kind answer. I had to google the whisky anoraks ;-). I'm not an expert, just an occasional whisky drinker who likes the basic Talisker 10. I guess i'll buy a small bottle of the Talisker 1993 DE and see if I like it as well. If I do, I will have to roll the dice...I might either buy a 99 DE locally or find a shop online that still sells the 98 DE. Time will tell :-).

[Hargiwald]

@ralfystuff Indeed. Any chance we'll see a review of the latest edition, distilled in 2000 and bottled this year?

[ralfystuff]

@Hargiwald

due to the reviews already planned, probably next year sometime.

[chrish12345]

@Motormax34 I've tried both, they seem pretty similar in taste and quality level

[Motormax34]

@chrish12345

Thank you for your reply. I have bought a 200ml bottle of the 1993 Edition and found that it is too sherry-sweet for my taste. Lagavulin 16 has a similar combination of sherry sweetness and smoke but feels better balanced to me. (But I have to admit my last bottle of Lagavulin 16 from 2006 was much sweeter, more complex and better overall than a bottle I bought last month. The Lagavulin 16 from 2006 is more similar to the Talisker DE than the new bottle.)

[MadDog769]

Ralfy, have you had the opportunity to try Talisker 57º North? I really enjoy the Talisker 10 and am tempted to pull the trigger and pick up a bottle.

[ralfystuff]

@MadDog769

I tasted a good one followed by a very poor one in the space of a week !

[apollon440]

Dear Ralfy, what do you mean by "recent dissapointment with Talisker 18yo"? Is it not good or not as good as you expected it to be? Is it still worth a try? And is it true that there will be no more Talisker 18 in the future?

[ralfystuff]

@apollon440

a recent purchase of Tal 18 was very poor flavour-wise. .... fellow malt-mates agreed !

[bpmbrent]

what is a peathead (peath head, petehead) i have no idea how to spell it.

[ralfystuff]

@bpmbrent

a 'peathead' is a whisky drinker who likes Islay Malts and all things tasting of peat smoke, ... try it !

[bpmbrent]

@ralfystuff thanks for taking the time to reply to my question

[rhinonose]

ever think of doing a review on the 175th anniversary edition? just bought a bottle and curious what you think of it

[ralfystuff]

@rhinonose

my last tasting was inconclusive !

[DjNayrobi]

I am just trying the Talisker DE with a Lindt 85% chocolate .. man thats f**ing delicious !!!

a really great whisky - thats what i call a perfect dram of joy

[gummybearkiller1]

One more question sorry.

I have come upon Finlaggan cask stength islay single malt.

What is your recommendation regarding Finlaggan as it is a very low priced whisky?

Lars

[ralfystuff]

@gummybearkiller1

the 'old reserve' is the one to go for, the cask version is a feisty bizzim ! ... if you get my drift.

[gummybearkiller1]

Hi ralfy!

I got a question for you.

I have watched all your videos here several times and i love the work you put into it.

But you give what you say is a damn good whisky 83/100 points and a not so good one a higher score.

How do you conclude that??

I mean, to compare lowland single malt with islay single malt isnt quite fair i think.

I LOVE: Jura Superstition, Lagavulin 16 yo, Auchentoshan 21yo, Laphroaig Cask Strength, so i know how to apprechiate different sorts of single malt

TC

LARS

[ralfystuff]

@gummybearkiller1

... marks are only marks ! a nose and taste whisky concluding with what I consider it's overall 'delivery' in relation to others tasted and my experience. I give a damn good whisky 83/100 but a damn better one 84+ which might not be up to my expectations of being better , for example a whisky might get 86 instead of an expected 90 therefore is relatively a 'not so good' experience.

[chrish12345]

Ralfy do you know the reasoning for 45.8% rather than 46? Why not just do 46% and be done with it?

[ralfystuff]

@chrish12345

... good point, it's just Distillers being Distillers !

[shuboy05]

@chrish12345

Typically the explanation is that the distillery liked the flavor at that strength. However I agree with Ralfy that Talisker is only doing it because they want to. Having a weird ABV (or anything weird in general) tends to get people talking and bottles selling.

[jlim2397]

@chrish12345 The original theory behind 46% as the "standard" strength is that the ancient "Proof" level of alcohol (where the whisky would flame when gunpowder was added and lit) was just above 45.7%. This was the old UK 100 Proof.

Talisker has bottled at 45.8% because this is the nearest one can get to "100 Proof" in abv, rounded up to the nearest percentage point.

[chrish12345]

@jlim2397 Thanks for that reply, very interesting

[bajsbopper]

@jlim2397 Not really, 100 UK Proof is 57,1% and Taliskers strength of 45,8% is the old 80 proof rounded up!

[sibermonk]

Give him the keys to the city! Guatemalan! Hooray!

[jboothe7]

great review, sounds tempting...

[chrish12345]

Thanks for the chocolate tip Ralphy, I will try that.

[BozoTheBear]

hey ralfy, can you tell me what you didn't like about the talisker 18yo? i was considering that as the next whisky i'd try - it won best single malt in 2007, and i can get it at my local bottle shop.

[ralfystuff]

@BozoTheBear

... a feeble shadow of what it should be.

In 2007 it was good, in 2010 it is not good.

[shuboy05]

@ralfystuff Ralfy, does that mean that, like wine, whiskey will also have good and bad years?

[ralfystuff]

@shuboy05

.... over the years whisky components change, the yeast, grain, staff producing, casks, storage units, volume demands ... all these factors combine to influence how the spirit will be in th e bottle we buy.

Grain for example used to be lower yielding but with modern strains of barley the yield is higher in sugars, whilst flavour is more 'restrained'.

Look up 'Golden Promise' and 'optic' barley types.

[anorak1977]

@BozoTheBear

... I have to agree with Ralfy on the Talisker 18. I just lost $70 on a bottle of Talisker 18 year old. It's pretty lousy stuff. Bad nose, strange palate, and no finish. Anyone want it? Aside from doing an experimental blending with it, it's garbage!

[BozoTheBear]

@anorak1977 hmmm....... i picked one up in australia which was good - maybe they had an older bottling :)

[aphasia2]

talisker distillers edition was the whisky who made me as a whisky lover.amazing whisky.recomended.and it was the whisky who show me the way to islay peated whiskys.and about the 18 tears,yes i agree with you ralfy some dissapointment over it.its NOT a bad whisky just feel the distillers its much better.

[boraoborao]

Hi there again Ralfy, this is Rodrigo from Brazil, mail me your e-mail and your adress Ill send you a Bottle of Cachaça so you can try to review it, if you feel like it...

Thank you!

Have a nice week

[YoungPulteney]

Talisker D.E. 1998 is one of my absolute favourites! (so I noticed the missing review, too, but decided to wait because I thought you probably made but just didn't uploaded it yet). In the nose, I got something which reminds me of raisins, too.

Interesting hint, this thing with absinth. Since I'm a absinthe-lover, I think I'll have to try it. By the way - I got a absinthe-recommendation: "Mata Hari" from Austria. It's a quite unusual Absinthe, but my absolute nr. 1!

[ralfystuff]

@YoungPulteney

... thanks for the Absinthe tip, I will look out for it even though it's not available in Little Britain.

[YoungPulteney]

@ralfystuff It's also not available here in Switzerland. I have to go to Germany to buy it (I'm glad the frontier is just a few miles away). I think it's a shame that the distiller's from Switzerland don't concentrate more on absinthe, which has it's origins here and has quite a big potential to become really popular (with all the rituals and mysticism around it). Instead, they try to benefit from the effort of Scotlands distilleries and try to make whisky, too. It's a bit sad, I think.

[ralfystuff]

@YoungPulteney

... Absinthe is fascinating and has such potential for quality, ... shame there is not more 'craft' stuff available.

[captintt]

Another great review. As a Talisker fan, I’ve been looking getting a bottle of this for a while but thought I’d wait for your review.

I could see it in your face that you really enjoyed this one. To be honest you actually seemed a little surprised by it.

Down in London its around about £10 more than the 10 year old, do you think its worth it for the extra year..?

By the way, was that a tan your sporting there Ralfy..?

[ralfystuff]

@captintt

... it's a busy-in-the-garden tan !

[SineOccasu]

amen to Lindt Ralfy!

[ralfystuff]

@RachelFuryRocks

... check out "whisky review 99" and $146 is expensive !

[arcflashvictim]

First thing I do when I get home is pour a dram of Ardbeg Supernova and add a few drops of Absinth.

[Tantrum777]

Great review, sounds very complex and very good! good idea with the chocolate I have done this with Russian Imperial Stouts the combination is so good its jaw dropping!