Talisker doesn’t get much airtime here and there is a simple reason for that. I am not drinking or buying much of the stuff so can’t write any material on it. Talisker is still for me one of those brands which others rave about but I simply can’t see what holds the interest of the captive audience around me. It’s at these kind of events that I can see why people think whisky must not be for them or there palate is broken because while everyone else is cheering you are wondering when the flavour is going to drop in.

The last review of Talisker was a fairly decent Distiller’s edition from 2015 which was full of sherried sweetness to restrain the peppered Talisker spirit which I just cannot abide. In a similar vain we have here another Talisker which I can enjoy which again has been neutered and harnessed for my drinking pleasure with Port pipes this time for a little variety.

The Dram

The Port finished Talisker has been around since 2013 but little is known about the recipe. The Diageo website seems to be pretty badly broken because this and a few others are all gone. Perhaps they are all too old now and falling off the official product list. I suppose this will have a finishing period similar to the Glen Moray Glen Moray we spoke about a few reviews back on some ex-bourbon matured whisky which is around a decade one. The bottling strength is of course 45.8% and it will have been coloured and filtered. Bottled are available still in the online retailers and you should expect to pay somewhere under 50 pounds a bottle. My bottle came from auction and is more than a little beat up from living in a cupboard for a while and was therefore a steal at 30 pounds.

Tasting Notes

Colour – reddish hue

Nose – Peppery and ashy yes from Taliskers spirit. Dried fruits is a given but they have a dirty charred quality to them.

Palate – The texture is thick and oily which is goot. Citric fruit in a sticky syrup, milk chocolate and more oranges.

Finish – Bags and bags of pepper and spice here with a subtle drying peat.

Final Thoughts

This started out with really bright and vibrant fruit notes and red fruits at that. Very quickly though most if not all of those notes evaporated out the bottle. That of course would suggest a very short if engaged visited into a port pipe which hasn’t integrated into the spirit. The Talisker DNA is more obvious here than in the Distiller’s Edition I would say. For me that is a downside but for those who like the 10 perhaps this is a better option to try for something different.