In this series we are looking to review the same bottle over the course of its  life in the cupboard. In part 1 we tried the first measure from the bottle and wrote up some notes. To go back and read that first you can do it at Part 1: Talisker 2003 (Bottled 2014) Amoroso Finish Distillers Edition

In this second part of the series the bottle is now only half full after  being opened in October last year. In that period of time the bottle has moved house and been transported in the back of my car, found a new home in a cupboard and spent a lot of time with more air in the bottle. That oxidisation and agitation we suspect will have had an effect on the flavour so lets note down some notes and compare it to those from the fresh bottle.

Tasting Notes

Colour – Orangeade

Nose – Strong sharp peppery notes give way to a estery smell of gloss paint and petrol. There is bucket loads of nutmeg in here as well.

Palate – The texture is lovely and thick. More of the cracked black pepper with a rubbery smoke running through the palate. This is a classic brine pepper smoke of Talisker spirit and very much like the 10 year old bottle. There is some cardamom seeds and cloves with time.

Finish – Nice long finish layered with pepper and a sweet drying note coming from the cask. It gives a sour final twist.

Final Thoughts

So the notes this time are pretty far removed from the first time reviewing the bottle. All those notes of sulphur, sherry and sweetened whisky are gone. What is coming through now for the most part of the spirit character from Talisker, most of which you can get from the normal and cheaper 10 year old bottle. This is a common theme with finished whisky where the superficial headline cask evaporates away because it isn’t integrated into the underlying spirit for long enough. Something you don’t see in full term matured whiskies like Bruichladdich 11 Years Old Claxton’s (2016) which even on the last drop was full of red fruit flavours.